Seth and I are always working on reducing the amount of waste we produce. We’ve made quite a few changes over the past couple of years and intend to keep implementing more. One thing I notice being wasted a LOT this time of year is pumpkins. People scoop out the guts, carve a face in them, and leave them to rot. Or worse, you buy a perfectly good little pie pumpkin and leave it on your porch to rot or be attacked by squirrels! I think we can do better. Especially because every year, people ask me why my pumpkin pie is so good, and I always tell them it’s because I make it with fresh pumpkin.
Seth grew me four little pie pumpkins in our garden this year, and in this post, I’m going to show you how I prep fresh pumpkins for use in all kinds of yummy fall recipes. This post will get you to pumpkin puree you can freeze, and after that, all you have to do is find a recipe that requires pumpkin!
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, cut off the top of your pumpkins. Be careful, as these little guys have some tough skin! Next, cut your pumpkin in half, and scoop out the guts. Be sure to have the seeds if you like them roasted, and compost anything that’s leftover! It doesn’t have to be perfect. A few stringy bits won’t do your puree any harm.
Lay out your pumpkin halves face-down on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake for about an hour. You’ll know they’re done when they’re fork tender and the skin starts to bubble away from the flesh. Take the pumpkins out of the oven and have a beer or something while they cool to room temperature (they are really hard to peel when hot).
Once your baked pumpkins are cool, peel the skin away from the flesh. It should come off easily. Then just pop the flesh into a food processor (or blender in a pinch) and run that baby until your pumpkin is nice and smooth. At this point, your pumpkin puree is ready to use!
If you’re not ready to use all of that puree at one time, it can be frozen, and stays good for a loooong time. I’ve used frozen pumpkin that was over a year old with no loss of flavor. Still better than canned! I find that it’s easiest to freeze in one or two cup quantities, so that when you defrost it, you know exactly how much you’re getting! I try to freeze in reusable mason jars, but this year I have so much jam that I was fresh out and had to use plastic bags (my zero-waste brain is so disappointed in me).
Happy pumpkin everything!