Monday, October 8, 2012

How to Make Pumpkin Pulp Puree

Don't be afraid to delve into the land of food preservation!

While my children were still small, I had a 1/2 acre garden. I used to can green beans, tomato juice, and freeze corn and zucchini and an assortment of other fruits and veggies. I don't have a garden anymore nor do I can green beans and tomato juice. I would much rather spend my time on the golf course or taking a long bike ride or even spend an afternoon with my grandkids at the pool.

This year with pumpkins in such great abundance, I decided to put a few lbs of pumpkin pulp in the freezer. It's easy to do although it might take a little while to complete.

Canned pumpkin is not cheap and if you use it much in during the holidays, it can get quite expensive. I have used all but one of the cans I stockpiled from last winter.

Last winter I bought the last 2 cans of organic pumpkin pulp at the local Trader Joe's. I kinda felt bad while I was still shopping as I heard customer after customer asking where they could find the canned pumpkin and each one being told all the canned pumpkin has been put on the store shelves and if they didn't find any, they were all sold out. I strategically placed a couple bags of sweet potato chips on top of the cans so no one could see my canned pumpkin. The check out clerk announced he had thought they were out of canned pumpkin as I was checking out but was glad to see I found a couple cans. I then heard the lady at the next register send her husband back into the store to recheck the shelves for more. Sorry fellow shoppers but I got them first.
I won't be scouring the shelves this year. I am putting pumpkin in the freezer and saving a few bucks.
Here's how....

1) Using a sharp knife,
cut your washed pie pumpkin in half
2) Pry apart and remove seeds



3) Remove the insides using
an ice cream scoop.

4) Place pumpkins flesh side down in dish and pour
 about 1/4 inch water in the bottom of the dish.
Place in oven for about an hour at 350 degrees.

5) Scoop cooked pumpkin out of
 the skin and place in bowl when cooled


One big bowl of cooked pumpkin pulp.

6) Place pumpkin pulp in the
 food processor in batches to puree


7) I packaged one cup of pureed pumpkin per ziploc baggie for the freezer.
I got  7 cups of pumpkin puree for about the same cost as one can of pumpkin.

I hope you find this post helpful. It is really simple and fast to plan ahead for future baking projects.
Look for more pumpkin recipes here in the near future.
You can also use the same procedure to cook and process fall squashes such a butternut, acorn and crookneck. Squash can also be used to substitute for the pumpkin.

Here are a few pumpkin recipes I already posted:
Pumpkin Squares
Frozen Pumpkin Spice Frappe
Pumpkin Granola
No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake (Dairy-free)
ENJOY!!

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lindac1958

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