I grew up on pie that started with an actual pumpkin. I remember, as a girl, watching my mom cut up a pumpkin, steam the skin off, cook it down and process it through a food mill. And only then came the actual pie making.
It instilled in me a love for pie made truly from scratch. I love the texture and flavor of pie made from a real pumpkin. Of course, it's a lot to do in one day. So now I make the puree on one day and then the pie on another. Or I freeze the pumpkin puree and store it up for a surprise pie in the winter.
As with a lot of food processing, it may seem a little daunting. But the thing I like about it is that you do it in steps and the steps can be completed while you do other things during your day. The pumpkin steams while you are doing dishes, or eating lunch. And then it cools while your chasing your kids around or running to the store for a forgotten ingredient. Real food made while doing real life.
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I know a really popular way to cook down a pumpkin is in the oven. And this method works fine too. My mom's opinion is that it still doesn't get enough water out of the pumpkin, making for a pretty soupy puree. If you want, you can start with roasting the pumpkin in the oven and then finish it up on the stovetop to get out as much liquid as you can. The stovetop method really gets your pumpkin dry, which concentrates the flavor and helps keep your pie from being too soupy.
Also, I only go through all this effort for pumpkin pie. Other recipes that call for pumpkin just get canned from me. But I feel that it makes a big difference in pie, so it's worth the extra effort.
Pumpkin Puree
Makes about 2 cups puree
Total Time: Approximately 2 hours
1 sugar pumpkin (also known as a pie pumpkin)
water
It's important to get ahold of a sugar pumpkin and not a carving pumpkin if you want to make pumpkin puree. A sugar pumpkin is much sweeter and tastier, hence the name.
Sugar pumpkins are small and make about 2 cups of puree per pumpkin. You can certainly do more than one pumpkin at once, as many as your stockpot can hold!
Start by cutting the pumpkin in half.
Scrape out the pulp and seeds with a spoon. Make sure to get out all the pulp.
You want as few "strings" left as possible.
A halved pumpkin makes a great drum.
Toss the pumpkin halves into a large stockpot and add about an inch of water.
Cover and simmer on low for 15 - 20 minutes, until the skin is soft.
Remove from the pot, and let cool.
Peel the skins with a paring knife. They will peel easily after being steamed.
Add the peeled pumpkin back into the pot with the water. You want about a half inch of water.
Cover the pot again and cook the pumpkin for about an hour until the pumpkin is quite dry. You want to be able to swipe a spoon across the bottom without much liquid pooling into the empty space.
At first the pumpkin will hold onto its liquid and you'll need to watch that your pot doesn't go dry. There's almost nothing as bad as the smell of burned pumpkin. But after awhile the pumpkin will break down and begin to weep. At this point you won't need to add any more water to keep it from burning and you can remove the lid from the pot. Remember, the point is to steam off the liquid, condensing the pumpkin flavor.
Once pumpkin is mostly dry, process through a food mill or a blender.
My family prefers the texture of pumpkin put through a food mill as opposed to a blender. A blender seems to make it a little too smooth for our taste. But do what you prefer!
Use the puree immediately in your favorite recipes or spoon into freezer bags and freeze for later.
I usually freeze the puree in 2 cup batches because pie and most pumpkin recipes use that amount.
Method from my momma.
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