Adventures in Pumpkin

This month I decided to take advantage of the great deals on after Halloween carving pumpkins and freeze some pumpkin puree for baking fall goodies.  The internet reviews are mixed on using carving pumpkins for baking, so I figured I'd see for myself. 

On Monday, November 1st I purchased four carving pumpkins of various sizes for $1 each at Walmart. On Tuesday the 2nd I processed the two smaller pumpkins.  I started by cutting the first pumpkin in half and scooping out the seeds and pulp into a scrap bowl (I'll get to the seeds later).  The pumpkin was so large that I ended up cutting it into quarters so it would fit in the pans.  I placed one quarter in a glass 9x13 pan added some water, covered it in plastic wrap and microwaved it for 15 minutes and checked for doneness.  It needed another 5 minutes.  To save some time (I thought) I also processed two quarters in the oven in my enamel ware roaster for about 45 minutes.  Taking a spoon, I scooped the meat out of the pumpkin shell and placed it into my food processor and processed until uniformly pureed. My food processor was able to handle 1/4 of a pumpkin at a time.  I found the puree from these pumpkins a bit watery and decided to strain the future batches.  I packaged 16 ounces of pumpkin (a little bit more than in a standard can of pumpkin) in quart sized food saver bags and placed in the freezer.  Yield 112 ounces of pumpkin - equivalent of 7 cans of pumpkin for only $2.00.

I then proceeded to separate the seeds from the pulp and place them in a bowl of water, after several rinses, I spread them out in the cleaned 9x13 to air dry.

I didn't return to my pumpkin project until Sunday November 6th, and as you may have guessed on of my pumpkins couldn't wait and was too soft to process.  I tossed it out into an overgrown section of field behind my house, hoping for some volunteer pumpkins next year.  However, I had also picked up a pie pumpkin at the grocery store that day for $0.25/lb (I spent $0.69 for this pumpkin).

This time I knew a bit more what to expect, I took my remaining pumpkin (the largest of the four carving pumpkins), cut it and cleaned it. This time, I separated the seeds from the pulp as I cleaned the pumpkin, and put them in a bowl of water.  I then put one cup of water in the bottom of the glass 9x13 and microwaved one quarter of the pumpkin for 20 minutes. I then scooped the meat into a strainer before placing it in my food processor. This created a much better consistency of puree that was again frozen 16 ounces per food saver bag. Yield 96 ounces of pumpkin - equivalent to 6 cans of pumpkin for $1.00

On to the pie pumpkin...this pumpkin had such a hard shell I could not cut it.  It was even difficult for Terry to cut into, he got it about half cut and was able to crack it open the rest of the way.  The good thing about this pumpkin was that both halves fit into the 9x13 baker. I again microwaved it with 1 cup of water for 20 minutes. Yield 16 ounces of pumpkin - equivalent to one can of pumpkin for $0.69.

Initial comparison... The pie pumpkin appeared a bit more orange before cooking and the puree seemed to have a bit more flavor.  The meat of the carving pumpkins was a bit stringy before cooking, but that did not seem to affect the end product.  The seeds of the pie pumpkin were a bit smaller, but plumper.  But unless there is a major flavor difference in the baked goods, I don't think the extra time, cost and lower yield bode well for the pie pumpkin.

Now for the pumpkin seeds.  I kept the seeds from the pie pumpkin separate from the carving pumpkin so these could be compared as well.  Both batches of seeds were soaked for several hours (after the intial cleaning and drying) in salt water and allowed to dry another 24 hours.  I had three cups of carving pumpkin seeds, I mixed these with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and two pinches of salt and spread on a baking sheet and baked at 300 degrees for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes or so.  I had 3/4 cup of pie pumpkin seeds, mixed with 1 tablespoons of melted butter and one pinch of salt, again baked at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Photo shows the carving pumpkin seeds on the left and the pie pumpkin seeds on the right...the verdict is still out on the pumpkin seeds, both are very good, there is a bit of a taste and texture difference, but I can't say one is better than the other. 

I hope you enjoyed my very first post...I'm off now for more adventures, I can't wait to share them with you.