Technique Post: Making Pumpkin Puree

I thought I would try branching out from the usual recipes into how it is that I do some things.  Also, the recipe for pumpkin puree would be ridiculously direction-heavy, so it might as well be a different sort of post.  Anyway, I got this pumpkin from the CSA so I decided to bite the bullet and do something with it.  Last year I made puree and just froze it, then promptly made nothing out of the frozen puree.  So this year I made the puree and made stuff out of it the same day.  Much more work on that one day, but also no freezer door full of pumpkin that makes me feel guilty for not using it.  I used a food processor to make this puree.  If you don't have one, a good one can be found here: KitchenAid KFP750OB 700-Watt 12-Cup Food Processor, Onyx Black.  You don't HAVE to have a food processor to accomplish this, but I have done it with a potato masher and found that the end product is still really stringy and that it is a lot more work.

1. Prepare the Pumpkin: Cut pumpkin in half.  This is a fantastic task to accomplish with your pumpkin-carving tools or any sturdy serrated knife with a comfortable handle. Once you have two halves, scoop out the seeds and the strings holding the seeds in.  If you are feeling really industrious, feel free to save and roast the seeds.  I didn't, but I could have.

2. Bake the Pumpkin: Once you have two halves that are clean of seeds and strings, place them cut-side down in a baking dish.  I used a large Pyrex pan, but it can be anything with tall sides and enough room to hold both pumpkin halves.  Pour enough water into the pan to come up about an inch on the pumpkins. If your cut line on your pumpkin is really straight, you should also make sure that water got into the pumpkin center (that the pumpkin isn't suctioned to the pan, basically).  Place dish with water and pumpkin in a 350 degree oven and roast until pumpkin is cooked through.  For my pumpkin, this took about an hour but my pumpkin was pretty big for a sugar pumpkin.  Check it after like 30 minutes and judge from there.  Pumpkin is done when a fork can pierce the skin and flesh with minimal pressure.
3. Cool the Pumpkin: Lift the pumpkin halves up so that the cut sides are exposed and prop it up in the pan.  I did this with forks.  This is less important to the whole process, but it does help the pumpkin cool faster so I recommend it.  Allow the pumpkin to cool until you can handle it with your bare hands.

4. Puree the Pumpkin: The pumpkin is now baked, soft, and cooled.  Use an ice cream scoop or soup spoon to scoop the meat from the skin of the pumpkin.  Try to not scrap hard enough to pull up pumpkin skin--it is hard and doesn't taste great--but if you do just take it off the scrapings.  Scoop the pumpkin meat into the bowl of a food processor.  Depending on your food processor and your pumpkin, you might need to make the actual puree in batches.  There is usually a "max fill" line on a food processor bowl and, for this project, I would really recommend using it.  You don't want lumpy puree.  Once your pumpkin meat is all in the processor or your bowl is full to the max fill line, affix lid and process pumpkin.  The actual puree will appear in seconds.  Scrap the sides of the processor down and give it a few more whirls, just to make sure it is smooth.
5. Use the Pumpkin: You now have puree.  If your pumpkin was anything like my pumpkin, you probably have a lot of puree (my pumpkin ended up being about 4 cups of puree).  Something you might notice is that homemade puree tends to be yellower and looser than the canned that you buy in the store.  This isn't wrong, it's just a different product.  The recipes that you will find for pumpkin on this site have generally been made with homemade puree not because I hate canned, but more because I tend to have pumpkins to deal with and create recipes to do just that.  Homemade and store-bought can usually be used interchangeably in things like pies, breads, and most cakes.  Just be aware that these recipes might turn out a little looser with homemade puree. I would not really recommend using homemade puree for cookies as it is, since the cookies will probably spread because of the extra moisture in the puree.  If you want to use homemade puree for such a recipe, I would recommend adding about 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch for every cup of homemade puree to help combat the loose-ness.  Another really important note here: you should not can homemade pumpkin puree.  Freeze it yes, can it no.  The USDA does not recommend home canning of pumpkin because the acid content of pumpkin is not high enough and the puree is dense enough to prevent the center from reaching the necessary temperature to kill bacteria and to prevent the growth of botulism.  If you make your puree and don't use it that day, it can be kept in a refrigerator for about a week and a freezer for about a year.  Or you can just use it right away, like I did, and have a whole bunch of delicious pumpkin products in your house.