Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Easy to do, inexpensive, and you can taste the difference.  Pie pumpkins grow great in Texas, but you need an area about 10' x 10' or larger to grow them.  The year before my pumpkins grew up the fencing around my compost bin.  I always keep my compost bins in my garden, and then move them from spot to spot each year to help improve the garden soil naturally. 

 

 

Instructions:

1.  Cut the pumpkin in half, and pull out seeds and most of the 'strings'.  I have found what works best for me is to pull out the pumpkin seeds with my fingers, and then scrape out the strings with a metal spoon that has a sharp edge.  This is the most difficult part of making pumpkin puree, so don't get frustrated and stop at this point!  The seeds can be saved, soaked in sea salt water, and dehydrated to make edible pumpkin seeds.



2.  Next place the pumpkin halves face down in a glass baking dish (or on a cookie sheet) and bake in preheated oven at 375 °F for about 1 1/2 hours or until very soft.



3.  Remove from oven and allow to cool so you can handle them.  Then turn over and scoop out the flesh with a fork or a spoon.  It separates nicely from the outer skin and is very easy to remove.  Place in a large glass bowl.



4.  Sometimes there is a darkened ring around the edge of the pumpkin that was touching the glass pan.  Using a knife, carefully cut off this darkened edge before scooping out pulp. (This is what the above half looked like prior to cutting off the darkened edge.)



5.  Be sure to cool the pumpkin pulp in the refrigerator for several hours before freezing, if you will be freezing it in plastic.  Remember to never place hot or even lukewarm food into a plastic dish or bag or you will leech plasticizers into your food.



 

6.  Once the pulp is chilled, I measure out 1 1/2 cup increments (you can package up any amount that works best for you), and place it on a piece of saran wrap.  I then gently fold the saran wrap around it and place the package into a Ziploc bag.  Four packages fit into a gallon size Ziploc.  Mark the Ziploc so you know what you have in your freezer (I wrote the date, pumpkin puree and 1 1/2 cups on mine), and then place Ziploc bag in the freezer.  It can be kept for 6 months to over a year, depending upon your freezer.



 

 

7.  Don't puree the pulp until you are ready to use it.  I thaw the package fully in the refrigerator (place in a dish or it will leak) and then pour off any juice before placing in my food processor.  I have found that if I puree it before freezing, it does not age as well and results in very watery stringy mush when I thaw it.