**I edited this entry to include the step about how to puree. Sorry about that!
Pumpkin in a can is certainly a staple in the pantry. It is delicious and usually a pure product. I like to have some on hand all year round, for pie, cakes and as a healthy side dish any time of year. Although canned pumpkin is nice, it is expensive. It is also seasonal. You can make your own pumpkin really easily, for pennies. Here is how:
Pick up pie pumpkins. These will be small and really heavy for their size. The big ones we all use for Halloween *can* be used, but there is not much flesh, and you don’t end up with a lot of product for their size. Don’t pay more than a dollar each for a pie pumpkin. Each one will make two pies or more worth of finished pumpkin puree’.
Here is the procedure in photos. It is just that easy.
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| Wash and dry the pumpkins. Then cut out the stem. It pulls out easily. Cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. |
Place the cleaned pumpkins face down in a pan – This one fits in a cake pan. Add about 1/2 inch of water to keep them from drying out.
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| Save the seeds. Some can be washed and dried, then saved until next year for the garden. The rest can be roasted and eaten as a snack. |
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**Once pumpkin is soft enough to pierce with a fork or sharp knife, it is done. Mine takes about an hour. At this point, let the pumpkin halves cool enough to handle. The skin will peel off easily, and all that is remains is your pumpkin flesh. Place the peeled pumpkin into a large bowl and use a hand mixer, Kitchen aide blender, or even a food processor, to blend until smooth.
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Yea! The finished product. One pumpkin was 5 cups and the other one was 6. I freeze in 2 cups measures, the amount needed for one pie.
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| Here are the seeds, after I roasted them. I put them in the same oven as the pumpkins. I lightly coated them with olive oil and salt, before baking. They are delicious! Save them for the next time you make homemade granola.
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Uh, how did you puree the pumpkin? Food mill? Blender? Pumpkin flesh can be stringy which isn't something I want in my pie. Seems like a step was missing or do you do that when you take it out of the freezer?Thanks! Heather in PA
Love it. I have a couple bags in the freezer from last year. I think I will have more than a couple this year as I am overwhelmed with pumpkin.
I saw on another blog last year that they cook the pumpkin in the microwave, I think in some water. Have you tried that method?
Karen – I bet it would work just fine, but I would cover it with something vented, to keep the steam in but still allow it to escape when it got too hot. Amy