NZquilter

Has anyone made their own canned pumpkin puree and preserved it? I'm thinking just pumpkin, no added salts or flavors.

zozee

As in, carving my own pumpkin and scooping out the guts and slimy seeds? Nope! I tried roasting pumpkins seeds one time and decided I was no longer the Martha Stewart of post-Halloween pumpkin preservation of any kind.

Iceblossom

My mother's neighbor has started growing pumpkins for her to cook with. She measures it into pie portions, puts it in a ziplock bag and freezes it.

You want to bake or microwave the pumpkin -- no added water! Just scrape off, maybe run through a sieve if the flesh was grainy. Use as canned pumpkin.

Edit: The best pumpkins for cooking are not the halloween pumpkins but you can use those too. Typically a cooking pumpkin is fairly small (10 pounds or under) and with a very thick rind.

My prefered choice is Kabocha Squash, which looks like a green pumpkin from the outside!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabocha

Quilter 53

I've always used the Halloween pumpkins. I scoop out as much of the inner pumpkin as I can( I use an ice cream scoop) and then make a Jack-o-Lantern, or I cut the pumpkin into chunks and then microwave until tender. I wait to peel the chunks until after it cools a bit. Then I run it through my blender until smooth, measure 2 cups (the amount for 1 pie) into a zippy bag and freeze.
Sometimes it's more watery than others and I will drain a bit before freezing.
I've done this for so long my family doesn't like the grocery store canned stuff.

There's no reason that I know of that you couldn't pressure cooker can it if you wanted. Just follow the directions for your pressure cooker.

donna13350

I always cook it down and let it cool, then freeze. I ***think*** I read somewhere that something about the thickness of pumpkin makes it iffy to can safely...at any rate, I read something about it long ago and that's why I freeze it, even though I can other things.
a quick google search says you can't can it safely...although there are recipes for canning chunks of pumpkin..you could do it that way and then cook it down when you need it.

NZquilter

Thanks everyone! I think I'll freeze it now. We have been given too many pumpkins!

Iceblossom

The good thing is that a huge pile of pumpkins turns into just a good bit of finished product -- and a lot of rinds and stuff! I know goats love raw pumpkin, don't know if cooked is good for them, but if you have neighbors with piggies they might enjoy the scrapings.

And I can tell you pumpkins simply don't store well for most of us. A thick layer of hay is required so when it turns into mush you can scoop it up. Most varieties grown aren't specifically for storage.

I have a planting bed in front of my house that used to receive full sun, put a tiny little dogwood twig from my son's school fund raiser and over 20 years it now shades the area. But when it was small I had bulbs in the area for the spring and then I would put in a pumpkin plant or two. I love the big squash blossoms and the big leaves shaded over the barked area for the bulbs and kept the weeds out. Son loved having his own pumpkin or two. I'm a believer in mixing edibles into landscape.

zozee

Are you out of your gourd?

Just kidding. Go for it if that's what pumps your kin! (Okay, maybe should squash the attempt at humor and get back to a different kind of "patch"work.)

happynana

my son lives with me and he has taken over the vegetable garden for me. He is growing pumpkins now for the past couple of years. I bake mine in the ovenon low 200* for several hours (like 3 or 4) you can tell when they are done they kindof fall into themselves. and turn darker color. be sure to have them on a cookie sheet for the liquid. I puree them and freeze the ones he doesn't carve. Yummy

NZquilter

Haha! I love your sense of humor!