Pumpkin vs Sweet Potato Pie

[sardonicus87]

It's that time of year, no matter how much everyone else wants it to be Christmas ahead of Halloween and Thanksgiving (for those in the USA).

Anyway, smoking some ABF and was thinking about just how different cocoa and chocolate taste to me and it reminded me of a conversation I had with my wife a few years ago.

See, her ex-husband, like myself, recognizes that pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie taste nothing alike, though his preference was for the clearly inferior sweet potato whereas mine is for the pumpkin. To my wife, both pies taste the same.

So where do you fall—do they taste the same to you, or do they taste different and you have a preference for one over the other?

 

[El Capitán]

Both are different and both are delicious but I prefer pumpkin pie.

 

[RobNYC]

They taste different to me and, while I do like sweet potato pie, I'll take the pumpkin 10 times out of 10 if given a choice.

 

[SBC]

(a) I can see why they taste very similar to many people.
(b) They do taste different to me, but in the same family.
(c) I would probably choose pumpkin 7 times out of 10, but would like the alternative to mix things up on occasion.

 

[sardonicus87]

I just realized that there's a "Food and Drink" sub-forum that this probably should have gone into rather than "General Discussion".

Woops, maybe an admin/mod can move it if they think it fitting to do so... @ssjones @jpmcwjr or... well I don't remember who else is one.

 

[BCF]

They are equally awful

 

[georged]

Pumpkin for the (easy) win.

Really nice examples are one of the food universe's Magic Yummythings.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

90% of all pumpkin pies have no pumpkin in them. They are made of acorn squashes. Check the ingredients on fillings. It is hard to commercially make anything from real pumpkin without it having that rotted aroma.

Sweet potatoes, I love. The pies… not so much.

But, I’ll take a slice of that pecan pie, pretty please.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sweet potato for the preference between the two question but I'll shoot a sweet potato pie for a strawberry rhubarb one.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

The pies are interchangeable, but I prefer pumpkin. Approximately three fork fulls and I'm good for the year (and will not otherwise eat sweet potatoes or drink a pumpkin beer).

Pecan pie for the win. With or without bourbon or Southern Comfort.

 

[Kobold]

I like all pies but I will choose pumpkin over sweet potato every time.

 

[lraisch]

I prefer the classic pumpkin pie, but my daughter grows these as well as pumpkins on her farm and a pie or bread made with them tastes just the same to me. Jumbo Pink Banana squash can grow to be 30 pounds (and look like some pod person is going to emerge from them).

 

[Chasing Embers]

Cushaws make a good pie as well.

 

[georged]

90% of all pumpkin pies have no pumpkin in them. They are made of acorn squashes. Check the ingredients on fillings. It is hard to commercially make anything from real pumpkin without it having that rotted aroma.

Yup, pumpkin pie is really just a style, not an actual descriptor.

And the word itself---pumpkin---is botanically meaningless:

Is A Pumpkin A Squash Or A Gourd?

What's a pumpkin? A squash or a gourd? Learn a few key differences between squash and gourds so you can feel confident when headed to the patch.

www.southernliving.com

All because they are evil and enjoy tormenting humans, of course:




Which isn't to say so-called "sweet potatoes" are any less deceptive. They aren't a potato at all. They're a type of flowering weed-vine plant that was given the name because of how much they resemble a potato in size and texture, and grocery strores didn't want to call them tubular convolvulaceae.

 

[solideogloria86]

90% of all pumpkin pies have no pumpkin in them. They are made of acorn squashes. Check the ingredients on fillings. It is hard to commercially make anything from real pumpkin without it having that rotted aroma.

Sweet potatoes, I love. The pies… not so much.

But, I’ll take a slice of that pecan pie, pretty please.

One of our church ladies makes a pecan cobbler. Man it's incredible.

 

[solideogloria86]

I like sweet potato and pumpkin pies. In all honesty, if both are present on the table, I'll take a slice of each. But if I had to choose, pumpkin probably wins.

 

[HRPufnstuf]

Why not both!? I mean...IT'S PIE!

 

[HRPufnstuf]

Yup, pumpkin pie is really just a style, not an actual descriptor.

And the word itself---pumpkin---is botanically meaningless:

Is A Pumpkin A Squash Or A Gourd?

What's a pumpkin? A squash or a gourd? Learn a few key differences between squash and gourds so you can feel confident when headed to the patch.

www.southernliving.com

All because they are evil and enjoy tormenting humans, of course:

View attachment 250698


Which isn't to say so-called "sweet potatoes" are any less deceptive. They aren't a potato at all. They're a type of flowering weed-vine plant that was given the name because of how much they resemble a potato in size and texture, and grocery strores didn't want to call them tubular convolvulaceae.

A variety of Ipomea, related to Morning Glory and Jimsom Weed. Also, Candians often call Sweet Potatoes yams, another common misnomer.

 

[sardonicus87]

I mean, we make our pumpkin pies at home, it's definitely pumpkin (which is actually descriptive of several species from the specific genus Cucurbita, even if pumpkin itself is just a vernacular term, but it doesn't include all species of Cucurbita... but calling that out is just pedantic hair splitting akin to telling anyone that calls the sport "soccer" that "it's ackshually foo-t-bowl"—people know what you mean when you say pumpkin, even if that includes a few species, which doesn't make it any less "pumpkin" since pumpkin isn't a specific species; and for that matter the same goes for the term "sweet potato" and nothing is described by both terms, so they are distinct things from one another, even if that distinct thing is a group of things, it's still two different groups).

But no, pumpkin and sweet potato are not interchangeable pies, at least not to me.

And you guys can have all that pecan pie you want. Bleh to that mess.

 

[pipingfool]

I notice the difference and prefer Sweet Potato pie, but my grandmother made it with candied pecans on top. If it's just sweet potatoes and whipped cream (or the dreaded marshmallows), then I'll pass.

But a good Pumpkin Pie is really good, too. It has a slightly denser texture that is sometimes better. Sweet Potato Pies can be a little "mushy" if not made correctly (at least IMO).

But Pecan Pie, oh hell yeah! I'll eat my weight in some good Pecan Pie. In fact, that is usually my birthday dessert in lieu of a birthday cake.