Pumpkin is not just for jack-o-lanterns. They do start appearing everywhere right before Halloween, but that’s not because of Halloween, it’s because pumpkins are in season. From just before Halloween to a little bit after Thanksgiving, it just feels right to have pumpkin. Your favorite coffee shops start selling pumpkin spiced lattes, the bakery is offering a pumpkin scone (love the ones at Alice’s Tea Cup), and racks of pumpkin pies are taking up that whole entrance area of Whole Foods.

pumpkins and scarecrow 2

It’s time for you to join the bandwagon and start making pumpkin stuff yourself and most of the recipes start with pumpkin puree. It’s actually pretty easy. You can buy canned pumpkin puree, which is good. I have no problem with it. But when I feel like it, I make the pumpkin puree myself. I like knowing that there’s nothing in it but pumpkin and I like to support the local farmers by buying the pumpkins in the farmer’s market.

Pumpkin Puree
~2 lb 12 oz pumpkin yields about 2 3/4 cups puree
~4 lb pumpkin yields about 4 cups puree

  • 1 pumpkin

Instructions –

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

2. Wash the outside of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and strings.

halved sugar pumpkin

3. Place cut side down in a oven-safe dish/pan. Pour 1 cup of water in.

halved pumkins in a baking pan

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 90 minutes, depending on the size. (2 lb 12 oz pumpkin will take 45 min to 1 hour, 4 lb pumpkin will take 90 minutes.)

5. Scoop the pumpkin flesh into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. You can store in an air tight container in the fridge until use.

processing pumpkin puree

posted by jessica at 03:03 PM Filed under Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.