Have any of you ever processed your own pumpkin puree for pies?

[Arkansas Granny]

Does it make a better pie than commercial canned pumpkin? If so, did you bake or steam the pumpkin to make the puree? I've been thinking about making my own this year for the Thanksgiving pies, but wonder if it is really worth the effort. If I'm going to try it, I need to get my pumpkins soon since they seem to disappear around here right after Halloween. I would appreciate any tips you might have.

[hippywife]

1. Bill does it many times over the season

because he loves pumpkin pie. He even developed his own recipe.

It's really easy just to cut them in half and put them cut side down on a baking sheet with a little water. When I do it, I cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces, put them in my black graniteware lidded pot with some water, and then into the oven at about 400 for around 30 minutes or so. I check it a few times.

Bill then puts the meat into the food processor to break down any stringy-ness and make it very smooth.

We love it and love knowing that it is really fresh pumpkin and not the stuff that sits around in cans.

:hi:

[Arkansas Granny]

4. That sounds easy enough. I hadn't thought about using the food processor.

:hi:

[hippywife]

10. And if you can find one at a farmer's market

a sunshine kabocha makes a really fine substitute. We tried it this year from a friend's garden and the taste is much better and it's string-free.

:hi:

[GoCubsGo]

2. I have.

If you have the time to do it, it's worth it. Sometimes, the canned stuff has a tinny taste to it that you don't get with fresh pumpkin. Also, I believe pie pumpkins are a different variety than the stuff that comes in the can. They're sweeter, IMO.

I bake my pumpkins. I'd be afraid that with steaming they'd have excess water in them. Don't know if that's really a problem, however, since I never tried it.

When I buy pie pumpkins, they usually go into pumpkin beer, not pie. :-)

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Pumpkin beer! I've never heard of it before. Do you use spices in it?

[GoCubsGo]

15. Most recipes call for spices

However, not huge amounts in most cases. The one I use, wish is allegedly based on a recipe Thomas Jefferson used. It's lightly spiced. You can taste them, but they don't overwhelm the beer.

If you want to try one, there are a number of commercially-produced pumpkin beers available this time of year. Probably the most widely available is made by Blue Moon. It's my favorite of the ones I've tried so far. I'm told that the one put out by Michelob (Shock Top?) is also decent. More and more smaller breweries are also producing them.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I do it all the time and it makes little difference how you cook the pumpkin...

Most of the time I steam them, since I'll have a lot to process, but if I have just one or two small ones, I'll nuke 'em. Steaming, boiling, or otherwise using water often means the resulting glop may be a bit too watery, so cooking it down might be advised. Adding cornstarch, instant potato, or some thing else would work if you don't mind any change in flavor. Baking would work just fine, too, and I have tried that-- it just takes a little longer.

Depending on how I cook them, and my mood at the time, I'll use a stick blender or the big blender-- results seem to be the same.

I use "pumpkin" as a generic term for any winter squash and the big orange Halloween pumpkins tend to make the worst pies. However, properly made, The "worst" fresh pumpkin pies are likely better than those you get at the soopermarket.

The cheese pumpkin



seems to be the favorite for pies, and it's certainly mine, but you could use butternut or any other winter squash. If you have pumpkin farms around you, they should have a huge assortment to choose from.

(Beware-- the last few years Hubbard squashes around here have been getting as tasteless as Halloween pumpkins, so you might want to try one, but don't get your hopes up.)

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I don't think I've ever seen the cheese pumpkins around here, but I have

seen the small sugar or pie pumpkins. That's what I was going to look for.

[Tesha]

7. Yes, sugar pumpkins are great

... and they're small enough for us to eat it all and not have to freeze any.
This time of year the little freezer on the side of my fridge is quite full.

Cut in half, scoop the gloop, roast until fork tender and you have a wonderful jumping off point for many wonderful dishes.
Pumpkin custard and pumpkin pie are usually the winners tho'.


Mmmmm smell the cinnamon...

[TreasonousBastard]

9. Sugar pumpkins are every bit as good...

and will make some mighty tasty pies.

I've got a few around here, and some frozen from last fall.

[Denninmi]

8. Always.

Commercial stuff is just awful compared to home-grown and processed.

I freeze mine, which has the added bonus of allowing even more water to come out of it as it thaws (freezing ruptures the cell walls).

Variety is really key, too. Pie pumpkins are ok to decent, carving pumpkins are really only good to feed to animals, the eating quality is poor. Overall, most things labeled as "squash" are going to make much better pies than most pumpkins -- they were bred for table use, whereas most pumpkins were bred to be livestock feed.

If you want something really great, go to the local farmers market and see if anyone is growing any specialty or heirloom varieties. Black Futsu, Sucrine du Berry, Musque du Provence, Boston Marrow, or Shishigatani are all fantastic choices for pies and other pumpkin dessert uses.

[TygrBright]

11. Yes, and it freezes beautifully.

I weigh up 1-lb ziploc bags of steamed & food-processed pumpkin and use it all winter and into spring. It's yummy for soup as well as pies, and can even be the basis of a delicious curry, thinned with some coconut milk and with plenty of cumin, cardamom and red chile paste...

helpfully,
Bright

[Arkansas Granny]

12. That sounds tasty. I'll have to mention that to my DIL. She makes some

really good curry.

[AwakeAtLast]

13. Here's Pioneer Woman's recipe

Complete with pics.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/

I am not the biggest pumpkin fan, but if I were to get the itch I would try it!

[Arkansas Granny]

14. Thanks for the link. That's pretty much how I have decided to do it.

[kestrel91316]

16. I use pureed roasted butternut squash for pumpkin pie

[Arkansas Granny]

17. I've seen so many hints to use squash instead of pumpkin, that I may have to try both and see

if we like one better than the other.