How To Eat a Pumpkin

Turn those cute orange things from the farm into pies. Just like the stuff in a can — Jump to Recipe

This is a Winter Luxury pumpkin, nice and warty.

October is pumpkin time. The local farms, winding down for the season, are celebrating the harvest time with spooky pumpkin patches. Soon it will be Thanksgiving, and after that they shut down their farm stands for a couple of months until the next season starts. Kids love the big orange pumpkins for carving, because pumpkins mean Hallowe’en and candy. When you head out to the farm stands or the grocery store, you’ll see a variety of pumpkins, squash and gourds. Thinking ahead to fall baking and pumpkin pies, you might be wondering if you could make a pie out of one of those pumpkins.

Pumpkin is an old-fashioned word that used to be used for all kinds of winter squash. Pumpkin pie, an old-fashioned recipe, was not originally intended to be made with big orange Jack O’Lantern pumpkins. Those big orange ones have been bred to be large, round and hollow. They are for looks, not for flavor, so you shouldn’t feel bad about carving, displaying, and composting them (or feeding them to your critters). Buying them is good for the farm, and enjoying them is good for your heart and your family.

The best “pumpkins” for pie are sweet, dense winter squash. Canned pumpkin is likely made from Dickinson pumpkins, but could be Hubbard or even Butternut squash. Last year I grew Musquee de Provence squash, also known as Fairytale pumpkin, and they were pretty good. They have a complex flavor that made for some tasty pies, but this was not a great squash year for me so I picked my pumpkins from the farm this time around.

A short explanation of choosing, roasting, and preparing pumpkin puree to use in recipes in place of the canned stuff.

Ingredients

- one pumpkin

You have to choose your pumpkin wisely. Remember, pumpkin just means winter squash, and you want to pick the densest, smoothest, sweetest one you can find. The one I’m using in this recipe is called Winter Luxury. It was new to me, and it might be my new favorite. Your pumpkin selection will vary by region, so ask your farmer what they like the best.

Let’s take another look at this pumpkin:

A very, very warty Winter Luxury pumpkin

Here he is again, from the other side

Choosing a pumpkin

The first thing you see when you look at this pumpkin is how warty it is. Warty, and covered with a rough scale. When I saw all of these warts and lattice, I knew this was going to be a sweet pumpkin. The warts are called “corking,” and it happens when the pumpkin is so full of sugar that it actually bursts through the skin, which scabs over for protection, causing these warts and bumps. If you see a warty pumpkin, you know you’ve got a winner.

If you don’t have a lot of variety where you are located, butternut squash are a pretty good substitute. Check out Local Farm Finder, you might be surprised at what you can find in your area.

Tools

- a roasting pan

- a knife capable of cutting a pumpkin in half (hint- those little pumpkin carving serrated knives work great!)

- a food processor, or a blender, or a food mill

Directions

We’re going to wash the pumpkin, cut it in half, and then roast it. Then we will puree the meat, drain the excess water, and that’s all it takes!

Cut the Pumpkin:

It’s always a good day when I get to use the giant cleaver

1. First, scrub your pumpkin. There is often dirt and even dried moldy bits stuck around the stem and the blossom end of the pumpkin. I put some mild soap on it and use a vegetable scrubbing brush to wash the heck out of it, and then rinse it clean and soap-free. We’re going to roast it in its skin, and it isn’t easy to keep the good stuff from touching the warty parts.

1. Once your pumpkin is freshly scrubbed, cut it in half. You can scoop out the seeds if you want, but I like to leave them. Having something inside the cavity helps it cook more evenly, and I think the seeds add a bit of a roasty flavor that is quite nice.

1. Lay the halves of the pumpkin cut-side down in a roasting pan, and put in about 1/2″ of water.

1. Pop them in a 350 degree oven, and set a timer for 45 minutes. It won’t be long enough, but it’s good to check.

Finish the Puree:

I wound up roasting these for an hour and a half, maybe a little more. My 45 minute timer went off twice, but I was in the middle of something (carving Jack O’Lanterns) so I let it go a few more minutes. In the first picture, you can see how the pumpkin half on the left looks a little bit like a deflated ball? That is where I poked it to see if it was soft. You definitely want it to be soft and thoroughly cooked.

This pumpkin was pretty dry, which is a good thing. The last one I roasted (I don’t have pictures) was a Rouge Vif D’Etampes that was sitting in 3 inches of water when I pulled it out of the oven. Different pumpkins behave differently, so don’t be perturbed if yours doesn’t look like mine.

In the center picture, you can see that it still has its seeds and guts, and there’s a bit of caramelization on the cut edge. If I had known that this pumpkin was drier than the last one, I might have given it a bit more water to keep it from browning. It isn’t bad though, but I’m going to scrape it off because I want to keep that nice yellow-orange color for my baked goods. (I ate the browned part. It was delicious.)

Look at how smooth this mashed pumpkin is. I’m really impressed with the Winter Luxury. This is what you are aiming for, but not all pumpkins will be this smooth straight from the skin. Still, you don’t want firm chunks. If it seems like it isn’t fully cooked, put a bit more water in your pan, cover it with foil, and bake it longer.

1. Scoop the seeds and guts out of the pumpkin and compost them. Then scoop the meat out of the skin. I scooped into a bowl because I put it in the fridge to finish the next day.

1. Working in batches if you have a very large pumpkin, puree the mash until it is very smooth. If you can get away without adding any water, that is best.

1. The final step is to drain the excess water. You can use a cheesecloth or muslin, but my favorite is coffee filters. Line a colander with them, spoon the puree carefully in, and then spread it in an even layer. Put the colander into a bowl, cover it, and leave it in the refrigerator for a day or so.

1. Once it has drained for about 24 hours, you can flip the contents of the colander over into a bowl and then peel off the coffee filters. They should come right up.

Storing your Puree

I usually can everything, but you can’t can pumpkin puree without commercial equipment. Even a pressure canner is not recommended, because it is so thick and dense that it insulates itself and there is no guarantee that the center of the pumpkin will get hot enough to process correctly. Luckily, pumpkin puree freezes beautifully. A can of pumpkin holds just under two cups, so you can measure two cups at a time into freezer bags. Or, if you have a favorite recipe that uses a different amount, pre-measure the pumpkin and label it accordingly.

Did you try it?

What kind of squash did you use? Do you have a favorite? Let us know what you think! We’d love to see pictures and hear about your results.

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