How to Process A Pumpkin For Fresh Fall Treats

pie-pumpkins

My daughter is in love with fall. So when we went to the local farm stand, she begged for a pie pumpkin. She chose a really good one. It yielded about 4 cups of puree so I can do a lot with it! But let’s back up a bit.

Baked pie pumpkin. Find specific directions for this project in Lehman’s cookery and preservation cookbooks. Click on the photo for more.

Prepare and Bake
First, I have to break that baby open and bake it. Yes, you read correctly, before you can bake a pumpkin pie, you must bake the pumpkin. It’s pretty standard, really. Use a large knife and cut the pie pumpkin into quarters. Scoop out all of the seeds and guts, just as you do for a carving pumpkin. It’s easier because you’re not trying to get all that stuff out of a tiny hole at the top. (Save the seeds! We’ll get to those at the end.)

I generally line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil because then I don’t have to clean anything. Place the four quarters of the pumpkin on the aluminum foil and pop it into an 350°F oven. Leave it alone for about an hour. When you stick a fork in it and the fork sinks in easily, it’s done.

Scraping baked pumpkin from shell.

Take the pieces out of the oven and scrape the pumpkin out of the skin with the spoon, just as you would for an acorn or butternut squash if you were going to serve it for dinner. Pumpkin really is just another squash after all.

At this point you have two choices. You can either put the flesh into a food processor or you can use a food mill to grind it up. Either way works well. I use a food processor. You need to pulse the processor for the first little bit while the liquid from the pumpkin comes out. Otherwise, you wind up with a pasty puree on the bottom and the top not being mixed in at all.

Viola! You now have pumpkin puree! Oh, the options are infinite at this point. Wait! Before you plan what’s going to happen with the puree, be sure to deal with the seeds.

Baking Pumpkin Seeds

Soak seeds overnight in salty water in a glass bowl.

Pick them out of the pumpkin guts and rinse them off. Then place the seeds in a glass bowl of salty water overnight. In the morning, spread them in a single layer on an oiled, foil-lined cookie sheet and pop them in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.

Open the oven, pull out the cookie sheet, and stir the seeds up. Return them to the oven, and bake them for another 10 minutes or so. Now you’ve got a healthy snack for everyone in the house, if freshly roasted seeds last until everyone comes home.

Preparing puree for pie!

Back to the Puree, and Eventually, the Pie…
Now it’s time to deal with the pumpkin puree, transforming it into things delicious and tantalizing…

(Editor’s Note: Pumpkin puree freezes very well! Just fill freezer bags or containers with pureed pumpkin, label and freeze. Canning pumpkin puree is NOT recommended because of the varying acid contents from pumpkin to pumpkin. Don’t chance it – just freeze it.)

These heavy-duty containers are made of durable plastic to lock in flavor and freshness and prevent damaging freezer burn at very low temperatures. At Lehmans.com.
These heavy-duty containers are made of durable plastic to lock in flavor and freshness and prevent damaging freezer burn at very low temperatures. At Lehmans.com.

Oh, I think I’ll make a pumpkin pie. I believe it ranks ahead of pecan pie in my house, but I’m not sure. Every time I ask which is tops, I am requested to make both so that there can be a comparison and, somehow, no one ever remembers the voting results from one time to the next. Hmmmm, a conspiracy perhaps? Guess I’ll have to make a pecan pie too!

Editor’s Note: Amy Hornburg Heilveil is a thrifty, creative mom who lives in Oneonta, New York. As the creative force behind Skilled Quill, she calligraphs custom documents like birth and wedding certificates and the like. She’s always scratch baking and cooking with her husband and young daughter. 

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Heather Tucker on Facebook
11 years ago

I might try roasting the pumpkin instead of boiling it…processing a few of ’em today.

Sheryle Lancaster on Facebook
11 years ago

I’ve steamed and baked pumpkin and prefer the baking method. I’ve also read that this can be done in the microwave too.

Amanda Broadway Wallace on Facebook
11 years ago

I like to bake mine BEFORE I open it. It’s super easy to break into then. Though, I may be missing out on some roasted flavor..not sure about that. But my puree is SO much easier to make and can now.

Kaye Whitney on Facebook
11 years ago

My mother bought only the small pumpkins for baking and eating. She said that the large ones that people carve are a different variety and were for the cows to eat!

Paulina Vincent on Facebook
11 years ago

I tend to process larger quantities of pumpkin for the freezer by steaming (my rice cooker is an awesome multitasker), since it’s ultimately faster, but prefer the flavor and texture of baked.

Jeffrey Price on Facebook
11 years ago

Mike I highly recommend this company. Numerous great products.

Buttons Foster on Facebook
11 years ago

We love roasted pumpkin seeds! But they don’t last long!

I’ve baked pumpkins for years, but everyone acted like I was weird; glad to see I’m not alone.

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