I made a pie a few years ago, and it ttasted very good, but never got that orange color...I guess it was more of an unappatising color between yellow and very light orange...Do they put dye in canned pumpkin, because I've never had the same trouble using that...Thanks for any info
On 10/31/12, Helen Whitehead <[email protected]> wrote: > Cooking and freezing fresh pumpkin > > Below are general cooking and preparation instructions, and you don't have > > to use the mashed pumpkin right away. Pumpkin purée can be frozen in > portions. > Spoon cooled, mashed pumpkin into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch > headspace. > > To Steam: Halve the pumpkin; remove seeds, pulp, and stringy portion. Cut > into small pieces and peel. Place in a steamer or metal colander which will > > fit > in a covered pot. Put over boiling water, cover, and steam for about 50 > minutes, or until tender. Mash, purée in a blender or food processor, or put > > through > a food mill. Use in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. > > To Boil: Halve the pumpkin; remove seeds, pulp, and stringy portion. Cut > into small pieces and peel. Cover with lightly salted water; boil for about > > 25 > minutes, or until tender. Mash, purée in a blender or food processor, or > put through a food mill. Use in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. > > A 5-pound pumpkin will yield about 4 1/2 cups of mashed, cooked pumpkin. One > > can of pumpkin, 15 to 16 ounces, yields about 2 cups of mashed pumpkin. > > "Here is an easy method for cooking fresh pumpkin and making your own > puree." - Vi > > Directions > list of 4 items > 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). > 2. Cut pumpkin into small manageable pieces and cut off pith and seeds. > 3. Place cut pumpkin skin side up in a large roasting pan. Add 1/4 inch of > water and bake uncovered for 1 hour or until tender. Remove from oven and > allow > pumpkin to cool. > 4. When cooled, cut away skin and mash or puree. Use in any recipe that > calls for canned pureed pumpkin. > list end > > How to Cook a Pumpkin to have Pumpkin Puree to Make Pumpkin Recipes! > > > You probably take canned pumpkin for granted. You're there, the can is > there, there's a pumpkin on the label... open it and mix it up with spices > to make > a pie, right. Ah, but a pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread made from > > a fresh pumpkin tastes so much better than the glop that was processed last > year! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and > completely illustrated. And it is much easier than you think, using my > "patented" tips > and tricks! You can freeze it for later use, too. Note: > If you want to can the cooked pumpkin: see this page! > > Directions for Making Pumpkin Pie from Scratch > Ingredients and Equipment > list of 2 items > . a pie pumpkin (see step 1) > . A sharp, large serrated knife > list end > list of 2 items > . an ice cream scoop > . a large microwaveable bowl or large pot > list end > > Recipe and Directions > Step 1 - Get your pie pumpkin > > "Pie pumpkins" are smaller, sweeter, less grainy textured pumpkins than the > > usual jack-o-lantern types. grocery stores usually carry them in late > September > through December in the U.S. Note: the Libby's can of cooked pumpkin is > just there for reference - it is the small can, so that gives you an idea > of > the size of a typical pie pumpkin. They're only about 8 inches in > diameter. > > Just like selecting any squash, look for one that is firm, no bruises or > soft spots, and a good orange color. > > Yield: Pie pumpkins are small, usually only 6 inches in diameter. You can > usually obtain about 2 or 3 cups or puree per pumpkin. > > Step 2 - Prepare the pumpkin for cooking > > Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap. > > Cut the pumpkin in half. A serrated knife and a sawing motion works best - > > a smooth knife is more likely to slip and hurt you! > > Step 3 - Scoop out the seeds... > > And scrape the insides. You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that > > coats the inside surface. I find a heavy ice cream scoop works great for > this. > > Note: SAVE THE SEEDS: > > The seeds can be used either to plant pumpkins next year, or roasted to eat > > this year! Place them in a bowl of water and rub them between your hands. > then pick out the orange buts (throw that away) and drain off the water. > Spread them out on a clean towel or paper towel to dry and they're ready to > > save > for next year's planting or roast. > Click here for roasting instructions! > (opens in a new window) > > Step 4 - Cooking the pumpkin > There are several ways to cook the pumpkin; just choose use your preferred > > method. Most people have microwaves, and the use the least energy, so I'll > describe that here. But others make good arguments in favor of using a > pressure cooker, steaming on the stovetop or baking in the oven. I'll > describe microwaving > here, and at the end of this document, I've included alternative > instructions to replace step 4, if you'd rather use a different method. > > Put it in a microwaveable bowl > > Remove the stem, and put the pumpkin into a microwaveable. You may need to > cut the pumpkin further to make it fit. The fewer the number of pieces, > the > easier it will to scoop out the cooked pumpkin afterwards. > > Put a couple of inches of water in the bowl, cover it, and put in the > microwave. > > Step 5 - Cook the pumpkin until soft > > Cook for 15 minutes on high, check to see if it is soft, then repeat in > smaller increments of time until it is soft enough to scoop the innards out. > > Normally > it takes 20 or 30 minutes in total. > > Note: You can also cook it on the stovetop; it takes about the same length > of time in a steamer. I use a double pot steamer, but you could use an > ordinary > large pot with a steamer basket inside it!: > pumpkin_steaming > pumpkin_cooking_in_the_steamer > steamer to cook pumpkins > > Step 6 - Scoop out the cooked pumpkin > > Whether you cook the pumpkin on the stove, microwave, or even the oven, once > > it is cooked until it is soft, it is easy to scoop out the guts with a > broad, > smooth spoon, (such as a tablespoon). Use the spoon to gently lift and > scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin. It should separate easily an in > fairly > large chucks, if the pumpkin is cooked enough. > > pumpkin cooked, pickling off the skin > Many times the skin or rind will simply lift off with your fingers (see the > > photo at left) . I'll bet you didn't realize making your own pumpkin > glop... > err, "puree" was this easy! > > Note: there are many varieties of pumpkin and some make better pies that > other (due to sugar content, flavor, texture and water content. Drier, > sweeter, > fine-grained pies; the small (8" across) ones called "pie pumpkins" are > best. If your pumpkin is more watery than the puree in the photo at right > (there > should not be any free water), you may want to let it sit for 30 minutes and > > then pour off any free water. That will help prevent your pie from being > too watery! > > Tip from a visitor: "I make my own pumkin pies from scratch all the time. To > > eliminate watery pumpkin I strain my pureed pumpkin through a cloth > overnight. > If I use frozen pumpkin I do the same again as it thaws out. It works great > > and my pies cook beautifully." > > Step 7 - Puree the pumpkin > > To get a nice, smooth consistency, I use a Pillsbury hand blender. A > regular blender works, too (unless you made a few frozen daiquiris and drank > > them > first..). Or even just a hand mixer with time and patience. > > With the hand blender, it just takes 2 or 3 minutes! > > Step 8 - Done with the pumpkin! > > The pumpkin is now cooked and ready for the pie recipe. Get the frozen > daiquiris out from step 7 and take a break! :) > > It's ready to pop in the fridge or freezer (just pack it containers, like > Ziploc bags or plastic containers, exclude as much air as you can, and > freeze > it!) > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jeri Milton" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 10:55 PM > Subject: [CnD] Cooking a Pumpkin > > > Have any of you ever cooked a pumpkin? We have a medium size pumpkin that > my > little boy picked from a pumpkin patch. We're not going to be home tomorrow > night to carve and set it out front, so we're thinking about cooking it. > I've always wanted to make a pumpkin pie totally from scratch. At least > once > in my life anyway. Lol. Any recipes? > > > > Jeri > > _______________________________________________ > Cookinginthedark mailing list > [email protected] > http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark > > _______________________________________________ > Cookinginthedark mailing list > [email protected] > http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark > _______________________________________________ Cookinginthedark mailing list [email protected] http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark
