The New England Cheddar is, in fact, not a cheese. Confused? So were we! Named for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese, the New England Cheddar is a pumpkin variety with a smooth matte rind that we'd characterize as more of a blushed cantaloupe color than golden cheddar and a sweetness that we never thought possible in a squash outside a Delicata! We firmly believe it is an indefensible foolishness that people don't regularly eat pumpkin outside of seasonal pies and, with flavor like this, the New England Cheddar maybe be the squash to inspire people to explore the culinary potential of pumpkin!
We LOVE to cook with this pumpkin. Its sumptous orange flesh is soft, with an almost mousse texture, and has a relatively low moisture so it's an excellent pumpkin to incorporate in baked goods. But our preferred way to eat these gorgeous vegetables is to roast New England Cheddar halves and enjoy them with a pinch of flaked sea salt or a touch of allspice as self-contained bowls of buttery smooth and tender pulp. With a flavor reminiscent of caramelized roasted root vegetables you won't think twice about serving halves for a unique pumpkin centered-meal!
Given its versatile flavor and texture, the New England Cheddar has become our go to pumpkin. During the fall, you can find us utilizing the vivid color and squatness of Cinderella pumpkins and soft blue hues of the Jarrahdale and Blue Doll varieties in our autumn decorations but, when it's time to cook, we exclusively reach for the New England Cheddar.