It might be hard to make pumpkin pie this year. “Soggy fields” and “fungus,” the perennial banes of the pumpkin farmer, have left tons of pumpkins rotting in the field and created the very real possibility that there may be a shortage of canned pumpkin this season.
The problem is worse because 2008 was also a bad pumpkin harvest, which means there is little backstock to rely on.
We call upon Obama to release the Strategic Pumpkin Reserves.
If you can’t get any canned pumpkin, you can also go to your farmer’s market and buy some butternut squash. Roast it in the oven and use just like the good ol’ canned stuff.
Libby’s Warns of a Canned Pumpkin Shortage [The New York Times] (Photo: Sister72)
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Nooooooo! I bought one can but something told me to buy another one. I regret not following that instinct! This makes me sad because my #pumpkinlust (read: cravings) is strong this season.
Eugh. Not a fan of pumpkin-anything anyway.
I live right near pumpkin farming central and it has been soaking wet … on track to be the wettest year on record, the news tells me. It was hard to find pumpkins even locally for Halloween.
I have one blessed can. I will now horde it. What should it be used for? Egad, now it’s going to sit forever because I won’t be able to decide. D’oh!
@subtlefrog: I feel the same way!! I have so many things I wanted to make.. People were sending me recipes left and right for tastey pumpkin items.. Now I have one can and I must choose and choose wisely!
AHHHH! #pumpkinconundrum
This fearmongering public service announcement brought to you by the company that stands to profit from panic pumpkin buying.
I guess if you like pumpkin topped Eggo’s this has been a really bad week.
I saw a ton on the shelf of my local Food Lion two days ago, but articles like this are self-fulfilling prophesy… I’m sure it will be true soon.
Luckily, there’s always LAST years harvest (and the year before), still in stock at the 99-cent store!
WARNING: PARODY!
Obama needs to appoint a Pumpkin Czar immediately! The pumpkin and pumpkin canning industry is TOO BIG TO FAIL! We need to nationalize our dwindling pumpkin resources to ensure that everyone will be able to get a ration of canned pumpkin.
Obama needs to fire the CEO of Libby’s for running the canned pumpkin industry into the ground, just like he did for GM, Wacovia, BoA, etc.
Quick! Give “Big Pumpkin” a $700 Billion bailout!
I think I can still buy a pumpkin, which can be made into a pie without the HFCS.
I have about a 20 pound pumpkin on my stoop. Even the squirrels aren’t nibbling at it like they have in years past. Maybe I should can some of it.
Do you think I will be able to take a can of canned pumpkin on a plane via carry-on? Ever since they took my Sea World snowglobe because of its snowglobe juice of terrorism (left than 3 oz), I never know what I can or can’t bring.
Just for the record, butternut squash is sold in both canned and frozen versions if you want some convenience. I always keep a stock year round of it for making ravioli, soups and bread. And its cheaper than pumpkin. Well stocked grocery store is all you need.
@CompyPaq: I have one can…I may need to buy more and hoard them.
@ElizabethD: If you come down here in pumpkin season, they have festivals about it and everything! Complete with catapults.
@Kimaroo – Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis: I might pick some up on the way home just in case. I want to make some punkin bread. If I can eat it, that is!