November 29, 2009

• Pumpkin Experiments....Part 1

  With the changing seasons from summer to Halloween and Thanksgiving and now Christmas & getting ready for north I have been using up extras in baking, dehydrating and canning. The process is as interesting at times as the results...some successes and some bombs!
  Lots of learning!

    The cherry liquors in which I had jars with sugar,cherries and vodka on top of the fridge turing over every day for a few weeks were fine until the door got slammed and red juice everywhere in the fridge and floor....now since sealed in small jars.

  Baby cherry  garden tomatoes halved and put in salt have been great dried as well as pumpkin seeds salted and apples and pear slices dipped in a sugar and lemon solution. It makes for a sticky dehydrator but lovely results in glass jars. Cutting the apples is tedious as alot of the local fruit has had brown spots or trails. just two small jars of apple pear sauce.

  With celery, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers green and chili ones made some spicy salsa. ....the blender worked well for chopping and blending after some initial simmering on the stove, but saved some larger pieces to give texture.

  The Halloween pumpkin has been the most labour intensive but also fun.... the pumpkin cranberry muffins were tasty but too doughy as i used the pumpkin puree and frozen cherries. Nanuq was certainly interested in the smells.

  I started with a search on the web and found a great site....."Just have a Jack O Lantern? If all you have is a Jack O Lantern pumpkin (no pie pumpkin or butternut squash) then see this page for the recipe to make a pie from an ordinary carving pumpkin."

  These are some of the instructions from the above site and I have interspersed some of my own photos
  

  Directions for Making Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

  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. In some parts of the country, they are also called sugar pumpkins or even "cheese pumpkins".  Go figure that one.  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 6 to 8 inches in diameter (about 20 to 24 inches in circumference).  TIP: If you're in a pinch and can't find a pie pumpkin, here's a tip: butternut squash taste almost the same!  Commercial canned pumpkin is from a variety of butternut, not true pumpkins! If you insist on using a regular Jack O' Lantern type pumpkin, you may need to add about 25% more sugar and run the cooked pumpkin through a blender or food processor to help smooth it out.

  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 -
  

  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!

  Step 4 - Cooking the pumpkin 

  Bake in Oven – Basically, you cut and scoop out the pumpkin as for the other methods, place it into a covered oven container, and bake at 350 F for 90 minutes or until soft.Add about 3 cups of water to help prevent it from drying out and pop it in an 350 F (200 C) oven. It normally takes about 45 minutes to an hour; just test it periodically by sticking it with a fork to see if it is soft!
  

  Step 5 - Cook the pumpkin until soft

  

  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.

  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. 

  Watery pumpkin?

  If your pumpkin puree has standing, free water, you may want to let it sit for 30 minutes and then pour off any free water.  That will help prevent you pie from being too watery! Beyond, that, I have not found that the water makes a difference - I wouldn't be TOO concerned about it!

  Step 7 - Puree the pumpkin

  To get a nice, smooth consistency, I use a Pillsbury hand blender.  By blending it, you give the pie a smooth, satiny texture; rather than the rough graininess that is typical of cooked squashes.

  A regular blender works, too (unless you made a few frozen daiquiris and drank them first..). Or a food processor or even just a hand mixer with time and patience.

  With the hand blender, it just takes 2 or 3 minutes!

  Another visitor says using a food mill, like a Foley Food Mill, with a fine screen, accomplishes the blending/pureeing very well, too!

   

  Step 8 - Done with the pumpkin!

  The pumpkin is now cooked and ready for the pie recipe.  Get the frozen daiquiris ( or Alley Kat Pumpkin Pi beer ) out from step 7 and take a break!

  Note: You may freeze the puree or pie filling to use it later! Just use a freezer bag or other container to exclude as much air as possible.  It should last a year or more in a deep freezer On the other hand, you may NOT "can" it:

  • 11:43 am
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