This year, solid-packed pumpkin has been very hard to find in my grocery stores. If you are able to find it, the price has been outrageous. So, I turned to my own pumpkins that I grew for all the pumpkin that I need.
It isn’t hard to make your own pumpkin puree and if you can make applesauce, you certainly can make pumpkin puree.
Start with a good size pumpkin, usually 5-10 lbs. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a “cooking” pumpkin, but any pumpkin will do. Wash it down good in your kitchen sink and remove any dirt. Next, cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife. BE CAREFUL! Pumpkins are hard and you don’t want to lose any fingers. Once the pumpkins are cut in half, scoop out the seeds and set them aside for later.
Now, finish cutting up your pumpkin into smaller chunks and toss into a large pot. Add a couple cups of water to your pumpkin and cover with lid. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the pumpkin is tender enough to put in Foley food mill, about 30 minutes.
Remove the pumpkin from the stove. Carefully spoon a few chunks of cooked pumpkin into the top of the Foley food mill and begin to puree the pumpkin in the food mill. Try not to add any of the cooking water since it will make your pumpkin really runny. When you have pureed all of the pumpkin, it will be a pale orange color and not as thick as store bought. That’s OK! It will make really moist cakes and cookies. Use the pumpkin in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.
You can freeze the pumpkin in quart size bags for later or you can pressure can it according to the Ball Blue Book.
…or you could cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Invert it on a baking sheet and bake until soft. Then scoop out the flesh. Use as is, or run through a food processor or blender if it’s too stringy.
Jack-o-lantern pumpkins work, but they tend to be watery and some of them are not very flavorful. Pie pumpkins have a drier flesh and are much more flavorful.
You can also do this with any winter squash with very little flavor difference once it is baked in a pie or bread or muffins or…
Thank you for your comment! I do the whole oven roasting thing with winter squash and love it, but the times I have tried it with pumpkin, it comes out horrible! The pumpkin is hard and taste’s bad. I didn’t know what I did wrong, but I’ve never had that issue with the boiling. Maybe I’ll try the oven roasting again! 🙂