Pumpkin Puree

PrincessCalynn's Note:

Unlike the store bought pumpkin, this homemade puree has a bright colour, soft texture and natural aroma. Aside from being a GREAT baby food, pumpkin puree is the main ingredient for our favorite Pumpkin and Fall recipes; soup, muffins, cookies and the list goes on.

• Total Time: 2 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 cups

• 1 medium pumpkin
• cheesecloth (optional)

Directions:

1. *Cut the skin off the pumpkin.
2. *Cut pumpkin into 1 or 2 inch cubes.
3. *Place in casserole.
4. Cook in 350°F degree oven for one hour.
5. Pumpkin is done when it is soft and "mushy" when pressed with a fork.
6. With hand blender or food processor, blend until smooth.
7. To remove excess liquid, place pureed pumpkin in strainer or cheese cloth and allow to drip overnight.
8. Use right away or freeze in small amounts to be used in cooking and backing.
9. *Cover large slices of pumpkin (with skin) in tin foil place on cookie sheet and after baking scrape the fruit from the skin and follow instructions for puree.

Reviews

[Mike's_Girl]

Used this for the Opals Pumpkin Pie Recipe on Recipezaar and it turned out GREAT! I made about 10 pumpkins worth of this and it cooked perfectly in my round, glass casserole dishes with lids but took a bit longer to cook in my square glass casserole dishes with foil instead of lid. I used a hand mixer once and a blender the 2nd time... both worked well. To drain I lined a strainer with a cheese cloth like towel and dumped the pumpkin in, then I pulled the towel tight and twisted the water out (be careful when its hot!). Worked great and didn't need to wait overnight. Thanks for the recipe!! :)

[NcMysteryShopper]

Very easy and great results. I just left the pumpkin on the skin and after it was roasted I scooped it with an ice cream scoop and followed your directions from there. Thanks for posting.

[Leaceae]

I have now used this recipe three times in the past two weeks! I just had so many pumpkins that I had used as fall decorations, and I didn't want to be wasteful. I used mostly "Cinderella's Coach" pumpkins, which are very decorative with a greyish-orange rind and very deep ridges, and are very meaty on the inside. The first time, I tried cutting the flesh from the rind before roasting - big mistake. The ridges were so deep and the flesh so thick that it took forever. The next time, I tried the alternative method (baking, then scraping). This worked beautifully, and I had two delicious pies on Thanksgiving!