Pumpkin Puree

Isn't Fall wonderful?  I love this time of year. The air is crisp and clean, the leaves are beautiful, and the stress of the holidays it at least a few weeks away. It also means it's time for one of my favorite rituals, the annual trip to the pumpkin patch where we will undoubtably buy more pumpkins than we have the energy to carve. This year we also picked up a few sugar pumpkins (aka pie pumpkins) so I could do a little bit of experimenting, which means I've also been doing a little bit of research. It turns out making your own pumpkin puree isn't difficult at all, it just requires a little bit of patience. I've done a lot of reading and a little bit of listening and I think I've found a process that solves the main complaints people seem to have about making their own puree.

I've also learned that you don't really need a specialty pumpkin for any of this. As long as your pumpkin isn't dried out it should work. Yep, even your standard jack-o-lantern type pumpkin should do. Which means right now is the ideal time to pick up a couple on the cheap! And once you make the puree it freezes nicely, so what are you waiting for?

The roasting and pureeing process is simple and fast, but you should really give the puree at least overnight to rid itself of excess water.

Ingredients:

1 Pumpkin of your choosing

Cooking Spray

Additionally:

Baking Pan with a lip
Cheesecloth or Coffee Filters




They don't have to look pretty

Process:

Preheat oven to 400(F)

Cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the guts, and save the seeds for roasting.

Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and put the pumpkins, cut side down, onto the tray.

Bake for about an hour, or until the pumpkin collapses a bit.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When you're ready and the pumpkins are cool enough to touch go ahead and remove the skin, it should just peel right off without any real effort.

Put the pumpkin into a blender or food processor and puree.

Cut a piece of cheesecloth large enough to put the puree into with enough extra so you can tie it off at the top.

Now it's time to be patient and allow the puree to rid itself of any excess water. Take a large bowl and place a smaller bowl upside down inside of it. Set the cheesecloth/puree package on top of the small bowl so the water can run down and away from the puree. Cover this with plastic and refrigerate at least overnight, up to 2 days, emptying the runoff as needed so the puree isn't reabsorbing the liquid.

Now use it for something delicious! If you have extra freeze it for later.