ISO help cooking a pumpkin for pie

[MsT___]

How do you cook a pumpkin to use in pumpkin pie? I cooked one years ago and it was very watery after I pureed it. Not at all like what's in a can.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I like to peel my pumpkin, after cutting it into strips from top to bottom. Then cut the meat into chunks and place them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. bake the pumpkin until it is soft (350 for 45 minutes or so). This allows much of the water to evaporate off.

I've also steamed pumpkin, and boiled it. After cooking by these methods, place the pumpkin into a fine wire mesh colander, and let sit for thirty minutes or so above a bowl to drain. The drained liquid can have the pumpkin pie spices, plus sweetener added to it, then frozen on a sheet and shaved to make a wonderful shaved ice desert. Or it can be used as a beginning broth for soup. The pumpkin meat is used to make the pie. Hope that helps.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Dawgluver]

Chief, I've wondered this myself. Thanks for the great info!

 

[chopper]

When I bought pumpkins last year there were directions on how to bake the pumpkin in the oven. It was just like baking any squash. It turned out great. Just cut it in half, cleaned out the seeds, and baked each half. I have also just taken off the stem and pricked the whole pumpkin with a fork and baked it whole. It works great too! Then you cut it when it cools and clean out the seeds and "guts", peel, and mash.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I vote for baking a pumpkin or a large squash, the exception being butternut. I always peel and boil a butternut squash.

I usually do it when I am making an oven meal and eat some as a vegetable seasoned with butter, salt and pepper.

I mash the leftovers and use them in a pie, cake or cookies.

I also freeze it in two cup containers to use as a convenience food similar to the canned stuff.

I buy what is cheapest at the time and that is usually squash in my area.

I guess squash is not as sexy as pumpkin!

 

[Silversage]

I find it's much easier to peel & seed a pumpkin after it's baked. Just wash the outside, and put it on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet for 1-1 1/2 hours, until it's tender when pierced with a skewer. The shell and stem will then lift right off with your fingers, and the seeds don't need any scraping. Everything comes away cleanly.

Scoop out the flesh and put it in a strainer over a bowl. Cover and set in the fridge overnight to let the excess water drain out.

Make sure you are using pie pumpkins (sometimes called sugar pumpkins), not jack o'lanterns. Pie pumpkins are small and usually rounder than jack o'lantern pumpkins. The shell on the jacks won't get soft enough to pierce - as a matter of fact it gets very hard when baked. Jacks are much more watery & stringy, whereas pie pumpkins are more fleshy and dense. You also get a lot more meat for your dollar with pie pumpkins. Last week I bought 3 at .99 each, but the jack o'lanterns were selling for $7-8.

If you do get jacks, you will have to increase the sugar in your recipe by as much as 25-35%. You'll also have to make sure to puree it really well so your finished product isn't stringy.

Since pumpkins are available for only a short time each year, I buy several. Put them all on one or 2 sheets and bake them while I do other things. The next day, after they have drained, puree the pulp and scoop it into 1 or 2 cup containers and freeze. Freezing actually seems to draw out more of the water, so when you thaw it, just pour it off.

Fresh pumpkin is 'wetter' than canned pumpkin, so you may want to hold back on a bit of the liquid in your recipe.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Definitely skip the jack-o-lantern types if you want good pie. I use butternuts for my 'pumpkin' pie--the flesh is very smooth and dense when you bake it. No need to puree or strain the excess water out.

Another tip--most of those winter squashes will actually last all winter, if you have a coolish dry place to keep them. I like the way they look, so sometimes I pile them in a corner of the kitchen, or just leave them out on the counter. Saves freezer room.

The pumpkins used for canning actually look more like a butternut--they are tan, not orange.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

'Tis true that pie pumpkins are easier to process than jack-o-lantern pumpkins. I just hat to wast all of that good pumpkin. I use it in pies, soups, and as a side veggie. My pies come out great, and everyone still loves them. So, you can use jack-o-lantern pumpkins if you so desire. My family is proof of that. Ask my girls,. sprout uses her jack-o-lanterns as well.

Alternately, There is no reason you can't carve a pie umpkin into a small jack-o-lantern.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North