How to make pumpkin puree

Learn how to make pumpkin puree at home with this simple tutorial.

One of the best things about eating in season is that your body actually looks forward to the taste of each season. And when you taste something out of season, it just isn’t the same.

When fall/winter nears I begin craving the taste of pumpkin. Now, many would say pumpkin is more of a fall flavor, but that isn’t necessarily true. That is when everyone advertises pumpkin, thus people associate fall with that flavor.

However, pumpkins are grown in the summer time and put up for the fall/winter. Our homegrown pumpkins can last well into February. With that in mind, we are cooking up pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin soup all through the fall and on into winter.

If you have never tried growing your own pumpkins, I encourage you to give it a go. I have found them to be easy to grow and easy to store. We store ours in our basement all winter long and grab one as needed.

Why make your own pumpkin puree?

I know this question must be burning on some people’s minds. Why would you want to make your own pumpkin puree, when the store bought version is readily available? Here are few reasons we choose to make our own pumpkin puree…

• We know where the pumpkin comes from! Our backyard! Now, some of you may not be in a position to grow your own pumpkins, but most people have access to farmers markets. Finding a local farmer you can trust to buy your pumpkins from is far superior than the mysterious pumpkin at the store.
• Making your own pumpkin puree means your puree never has to touch metal. Store-bought pumpkin puree’ is stored in aluminum cans. That metal leaches into the pumpkin and then is consumed into your body. There are all kinds of studies you can find that link aluminum to cancer. We definitely don’t want to consume food that has been sitting in an aluminum can for who knows how long.
• You can eat pumpkin longer than just the Thanksgiving rush. When you store your own pumpkins, you get to choose when to eat pumpkin instead of the store. Grocery stores often stock canned pumpkin around Thanksgiving, but good luck trying to find it any other time. Whole pumpkins are the same, it is impossible to find one once October and November are finished.

See? Aren’t those excellent reasons to begin making your own puree?

What kind of pumpkin do I use?

Any pumpkin will do, just make sure that you know where it comes from! Remember, your food is only as good as the ingredients.

Typically, people use “pumpkin pie” pumpkins, however there are a wide variety of pumpkins that can be used. Keep in mind that the bigger the pumpkin, the more water it will hold, which will affect your puree’ and how you use it.

For this tutorial I chose a medium size pumpkin and it did have a bit more water than the “pumpkin pie” pumpkins I puree’d in the fall.

How to make pumpkin puree

Start by cutting the pumpkin in half.

Next, scoop out all the seeds with a spoon. You can either save the seeds or compost them. There are some excellent recipes out there for roasted pumpkin seeds! Also, little known fact, pumpkin seeds are a natural de-wormer for cats and dogs. So there is another option for ya.

Once the seeds are out, grease the outer edge or rim of the pumpkin. This will keep it from sticking to the pan. I used coconut oil here, but I have also used butter and olive oil.

Place the pumpkins face down onto the pan and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-1 hr. The time will depend on the size of the pumpkin. This medium size pumpkin finished cooking right at an hour. So, check it periodically by sticking a fork through the flesh. If it goes in smooth, it is finished.

Take out the pumpkin and let it cool. Now, when mine cooled completely, I had a bunch of water in the pan, probably because of the size (this doesn’t happen with the smaller pumpkins I have done). I just poured the water out and went on my merry way to the next step.

Once cooled, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a bowl.

For this next step I use an immersion blender. I have found it to be the easiest way to puree the pumpkin. You could also plop it in a blender or food processor. You can see in the picture below that there is a little more water. I would suggest straining off some of the water through a cheese cloth if you are going to use a larger pumpkin for a pumpkin pie. This pumpkin puree’ was going into sourdough muffins so it was fine.

Blend the pumpkin until it becomes a smooth puree. This puree can be used for all sorts of things from pumpkin muffins to pumpkin butter.

Can I can pumpkin puree

Unfortunately no. It is not recommended that you can pumpkin puree. However, you can cut the pumpkin into chunks and can it . Here is an excellent tutorial on canning pumpkin.

The bottom line is, canning pumpkin is cool! So go do it!

~Amanda

Check out more ways to preserve the harvest here.