ISO advice making pumpkin pies using fresh pumpkin

[MNTaxi]

I planted some Sugar Pumpkins for making pies and I've never done ths before. I've always planted Pumpkins for carving Jack O Lanterns.

How do you know when they are ripe enough to make pies out of them?

I'm pretty new at baking and cooking. My Mom and grandma use to do all of it. Since they are both gone I just started developing an interest in it.

This is the recipie I am planning on using.

How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Pie - from a Real Pumpkin, Not a Can! - Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos, Ingredients, Recipe and Costs

THANKS!

 

[chopper]

Great site. It even gives you all the ways to cook the pumpkin. I like baking them best. I had a friend who boiled hers, but I think it made the pumpkin flesh have less flavor than baking.

 

[MNTaxi]

Yeah they basically tell you everything. I call it my Recipies for dummies website. I love it.

My big question is how do you know when they are ripe enough to make pies with?

When they turn 100% Orange? Most of mine have been orange for close to 2 weeks and the plants are already mostly dead.

 

[Uncle Bob]

When they turn 100% Orange? Most of mine have been orange for close to 2 weeks and the plants are already mostly dead.

If the vines are dead/dieing.....I would think they are ready.

Enjoy!

 

[MNTaxi]

You'd thing so. I just want to make sure I don't have to let them set for a week or so before using them.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Don't think you have to let them set....If they are Orange and the vines are dead....You are good to go ~~ don't let them set too long in the punkin patch..or you may run the risk of them rotting...especially if it's "wet weather"

 

[sparrowgrass]

If the skins are hard and you can't make much of mark with your thumbnail, they are ready. And if the vines are dead, they won't get any 'readier'!

I roasted my pumpkins last year for pie--I cut them in half, seeded and scraped the inside, and roasted them cut side down til they were soft. If you roast them cut side up, you will get hard brown surfaces that don't puree well.

I peeled them after they were roasted. (Well, actually, I scraped the pulp off the peel with a big spoon.)

I froze mine in 2 cup bags--the right amount for making one pie. It freezes very nicely.

Also, you do not have to do all of your pumpkins right now. I didn't make puree til March--pumpkins last a long time in a cool, dry place. And the longer you wait to make your puree, the less watery it will be, because the pumpkin dries out over time. Mine were firm and solid in March--I cooked them because I was tired of tripping over them!

 

[MNTaxi]

Thanks guys!

Sparrowgrass. When you said cut side down do you mean the inside of the pumpkin down? What temp did you have the over? How long did you roast them or how did you tell they were done?

I'm going to go pull them all later today. It is starting to rain and we get a lot of it here

 

[sparrowgrass]

Yep, inside down. I think I had the oven on 375 or so, and I just kept poking them with a fork every once in a while until they were tender. Maybe an hour? It will depend a lot on how big they are. If you do have to put some cut side up, just cover them loosely with foil to keep the flesh from browning.

I scraped all the pulp into the food processor bowl and whizzed it up after it cooled a little.

 

[CWS4322]

I just prick mine whole with a fork and bake in the oven at 350 for about 45-75 minutes. This is how I also make butternut squash. When you can pull the stem off, they are done. I then slice the pumpkin open and scoop out the seeds, scoop out the pulp, and puree it after it cools for a bit.

 

[SodiumPentathol]

I've always cut mine in half, gutted them, then baked them cut side up covered with aluminium foil for about an hour or so. Until they're soft enough that I can mush the insides with a spoon.

 

[joesfolk]

I always halve mine but if I am not planning to roast the seeds for eating I don't remove them till after they are completely roasted. It is much easier to get the seeds out after the cooking is done.

 

[JMediger]

I don't know if pumpkins are like squash but everything I've read recommends allowing [the squash] to sit for 10 days to 2 weeks after picking to allow them to harden. I know my acorn and butternut both taste better if I do this.

 

[stassie]

Jumping in as a long-time lurker - but you can also make a pumpkin pie with a green (non-ripe) pumpkin. We read about it in one of the 'Little House' books and gave it a try, they tasted great! A little different in flavour to one made with a ripe pumpkin, but just different different, not bad different. I use it as a way to use unripe pumpkins now.

In saying that, my recipe sounds a little different to most here given that I don't roast the pumpkin - I boil and mash it, and add eggs, evap milk, sugar and spices (that's from memory without a recipe, I think there's some flour in there as well, and maybe something else I've forgotten).