Because it is not worth effort to use fresh! One year, I thought, I can roast and puree my own. Not one iota different than canned... after cutting, cleaning, roasting, chopping some more, then blending it, finding containers to put it in... there was no difference in taste! If it's a small pumpkin, go for it. But that's just my suggestion. It was too little return for so great an effort.

The pumpkins I've tried using fresh were too stringy. I wasted all the time/effort and ended up using Libby's. :) Here's the instructions from BHG if you'd like to give it a go though...

From BHG:

Fifteen ounces of canned pumpkin is almost just shy of 2 cups (16 ounces would be 2 cups). A 3-pound pie pumpkin will likely give you enough puree for your recipe. Here are some good tips for using fresh pumpkin:

Pumpkin math: After cooking and draining, this is about what to expect from a typical cooking pumpkin.

2 1/2- lb.pie pumpkin =1-3/4 cups puree

3 1/2-lb.pie pumpkin =2-1/2 cups puree

6-lb. carving pumpkin=2-3/4 cups puree

5-lb. round=3-1/3 cups puree

Pumpkin storage: Puree can be refrigerated in a tightly sealed container up to 3 days or stored in the freezer up to 6 months.

Cooking Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Prep: 50 minutes Roast: 1 hour Stand: 1 hour Oven: 375ð

1. Preheat oven to 375ðF. Scrub pumpkins thoroughly. Cut pumpkins in 5-inch-square pieces, discarding stems. Remove seeds and fibrous strings (save seeds for roasting, if desired). Arrange pumpkin pieces in a single layer, skin side up, in a foil-lined shallow baking pan.

2. Roast, covered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop pulp from rind. Place, in batches if necessary, in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until smooth (or for a chunkier puree, blend or process until slightly chunky).

3. Place puree in a 100% cotton cheesecloth-lined fine mesh sieve (use a double thickness of cheesecloth). Allow to stand for 1 hour to drain. Press lightly to remove any additional liquid (discard liquid).

/tricia

The reason I use canned pumpkin is for consistency in the finished products I'll make with it. There's no way to know what the finished texture and flavor of a fresh pumpkin will be until you've completed it's preparation. 'Fresh' pumpkin is probably not the correct word either. It could have been sitting for weeks in storage before appearing at the grocery stores or farm stand.

Also, about two weeks before Thanksgiving, many stores use canned pumpkin as a loss leader at the lowest price of the winter so cost is another reason I buy canned.

Do many recipes use pumpkin except for holiday pie? I doubt i would even try a pumpkin recipe except for pie. Not on my cooking bucket list. But i do love fresh pumpkin. Baked.

Just baked one from my harvest pile. It is free, i grew them, i want to taste and make something...all different, all strange in flavor. I do nothing difficult. Pick one 'willy-nilly' from the storage pile, cut it into baseball size chunks, rub with olive oil and put it on a parchment lined cookie sheet, flesh down, when i have the oven on roasting something else...using the heat.
Really good but not great. I chopped some in a small dice last night and added to leftover lentils with rice and lamb sausage. Delicious, but it is my harvest and i love eating what i grow but it was no effort and free seeds and have many.

For a holiday pie no way. I use canned for the same reasons. I need it to be familiar. And it is consistently good. Always the same. I have a few cans having dogs. An elder
and a young puppy. A funk stomach and loose stool, a few tablespoons will cure that. Constipation, a half can will cure that. The cans are cheap, even the organic during the holidays like mentioned above about price point sales.
I just stock a few organic cans with no spice or added sugar. One thing in my pantry i will always have.
Store bought, even local farm stands, might have off growing conditions unpredictable for good flavor. I would not risk a recipe with a fresh one and so much effort.
I was in a market today and all fall squash and small pumpkins were outrageously
expensive i was shocked.
Oh, wait, oops, i tasted a pumpkin zucchini bread today. So it is in fall recipes. Pumpkin spiced this and that.
(a new FairwayMarket opened near me last week and only a NewYorker would understand that glee...taste and sample your way through the store...no need for dinner at all)

wow... I guess I'm the only one who HATES the canned stuff! I've always cooked my own pumpkin! When I was very young I'd do it the hard way and cut, chunk, and peel the pumpkin, then simmer on the stove -- that's how my mom taught me to do it. Once I got smarter I realized it was so much easier and better to split the pumpkin and roast it in the oven. :p

Several years ago we had an especially bad growing year where I didn't grow my own and no pie pumpkins were available locally... I was forced to buy canned pumpkin puree to use for holiday pies. Total YUK!!! The resulting pie had the most disgusting texture, taste, and color and I swore I would NEVER use canned pumpkin again!

FWIW, I do not puree my cooked/roasted pumpkin. I just mash any large chunks with a fork (or potato masher, if necessary). I prefer having small bits of recognizable pumpkin in my pies and cakes. I've never had a problem with pumpkin being "too stringy".

I always try to buy/have at least 3 or 4 pie pumpkins for the season and I store them in my unheated garage. I freeze the cooked/roasted pumpkin in 2 cup bags, and occasionally a 1 cup bag, because those are the typical amounts required in the recipes I make. This year I have LOTS of pie pumpkins because I grew my own. :)

PS: I often roast a pumpkin just because I have the oven on for something else, hence I don't consider it wasted energy! Wash pumpkin, knock off stem, split vertically, use a sturdy soup spoon to scoop/scrape out the stringy flesh and seeds, then lay cut side down on baking sheet. Bake at reasonable temp (probably anything from 325F - 425F would work fine) until done. I consider it done when I can push my finger against the outer shell and it's soft and leaves an indentation. Ideally, there will be some browning/caramelization of the pumpkin at that point, which enhances the flavor (I think). I let it cool til easy enough to handle, then scoop out the flesh with a soup spoon. Any tough 'strings' will usually be very near the skin, so I just avoid them.

This post was edited by party_music50 on Thu, Oct 31, 13 at 9:35

Here's a recipe for a delicious pumpkin dish, which a local Afghan restaurant serves as an appetizer. I've enjoyed it there several times but haven't yet attempted it at home (if I do, I will probably use acorn or butternut squash instead, as they're more commonly available year-round.)

Sue

Kaddo Bowrani (Afghani Baked Pumpkin) from The Helmand Restaurant in Baltimore

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

For pumpkin:
1 small pumpkin (baby or spookies work best)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Cinnamon

For Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh-cut diced garlic
Dash salt

Slice pumpkin and remove seeds. Peel outer skin. Slice 2-inch pieces lengthwise. Place oil in skillet pan and heat to medium heat. Add pumpkin. Cook on medium heat covered for approximately 10 minutes, turning once. Remove from pan and place in small roasting or baking pan. Sprinkle the pumpkin with the sugar and cinnamon. Cover tightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minute or until soft. Time may differ according to the hardness of the pumpkin.

For yogurt sauce, stir ingredients together until smooth.
Serve pumpkin warm with yogurt sauce and a peppery flatbread.

There's also a variant of this dish that adds a ground beef-onion-tomato sauce to the mixture. The recipe (see link) gives pointers on technique.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chowhound recipe for Kaddo Bowrani

This year I grew Amish Pie Squash, which is an heirloom processing squash. The largest fruit weighed 52 pounds, the 10 others averaged 25 pounds each. I gave one to a friend who roasted, pureed and packaged it for freezing. She said it is ten times better than canned pumpkin, that it actually tasted like pumpkin. She has asked for a second one. She took some over for her 10 month old grandson to try. He loved it. His mother is making all his food and now she has asked for one to feed him. My vegan cousin wants one also.

I will roast and process the largest one for my self, it should come out to about 50 15 ounce bags of puree for the freezer. I figure that should set me until next year's crop comes in! The others will go into storage as it is an excellent keeper.

You can't just process any pumpkin, regardless of what the label calls it, most are just big ol' gourds, and have about as much flavor. Grow and process the right squash and you'll be amazed at the flavor.

Steve

Interesting feedback. How should the pumpkin be roasted? I picked up 2 sugar pie pumpkins yesterday. I am assuming I can check for stringiness and go the food processor or food mill route after roasting.

Sue - the afghani fish sounds interesting. Garlic, sugar and cinnamon in the same dish. Wow!

I love roasted pumpkin but DH only barely tolerates it. However, he loves pumpkin soup (regular and curried), pumpkin scones, pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. We don't have canned pumpkin here so I have to cook my own pumpkin.

To roast a pumpkin or squash, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, cut surface down on a baking sheet. 350 degrees until fork tender. Cool, scoop out the flesh and process in a FP or blender if it seems stringy. The pulp can be used exactly as you would canned pumpkin.

Steve

Last night we had risotto with cubed small winter squash - I don't know what it's called in English - potimarron. It was very good although a pain to prepare!

I do believe a recipe needing a puree would be a problem starting from scratch to finish.
If you grow your own or given a few, or purchase...and they do have a very long pantry life...
best to cut and roast at some point convenient other than a prep for a single meal. Like we have mentioned, use oven heat when cooking something else. A roasted chicken or braised pork, etc.

I OH so take back what i said earlier. I roasted three varieties last night, just half of a big pale greenish blue oblong one and a dark green turban, and a white. (not sure the names yet). Big chunks and slices, rubbed with olive oil, face down, on a parchment lined sheet pan. They roasted for a while, in and out, while baking bread etc. Cooled and tossed the mound in a bag and into the fridge. Cut off the flesh this morning and ran through the juicer...not the best way but it was out from some greens juice and half cleaned. The most tender, mildly sweet, smooth and creamy pulp ever. Much better than canned and tasted like pie. Now have about three cans worth and will freeze. I just mixed them together and cubed a cup to toss into some lentils for tonight...

sleevendog --> Sounds lovely. Was the puree liquidy or thicker? Now will you use these for pie? Maybe a trial run before thanksging :)

Canned pumpkin will always have its place in the pantry, but I prefer the taste of a freshly-roasted pumpkin. True, it takes a bit more effort than breaking out the can opener, but to me, it's worthwhile.

A 3-4 lb. pumpkin is easy to manage (not to mention, the smaller pumpkins are sweeter).

Oftentimes, I'll halve the pumpkin. But there are times when I simply poke the pumpkin all over with a sharp knife and put the entire beastie in a 375ðF oven for about an hour (or until a fork, or knife, goes right through with very little effort).
Once roasted, the peel comes right off and I don't break a sweat slicing the pumpkin in half.

An added bonus: pumpkin seeds. Rinse them well, and roast them in a little butter. S & P to taste. I love to snack on them. But I also add them to salads, soups. I've even made pumpkin seed brittle.

Right now, my biggest sugar (pumpkin) daddy is minutes from my house; below, is a tiny sampling of the many pumpkin and squash varieties they grow on their farm, so I have no reason to resort to the canned stuff.

Sol

Forgot to mention, some folks put both, flesh and peel (minus seeds) right into a blender or F.P., although, I haven't tried that yet. If you do, please let me know how it works out.

Sol

How do you control the moisture content of the fresh pumpkin puree so your pies are uniform? I don't live in an area where pumpkins are grown except for Halloween and a few sugar pumpkins, so choice is limited. I probably chose poorly for my trial since so many haven't had the stringy issue.

/tricia

GWlol-it was as thick as baby food and much creamier than canned. Having a last minute family reunion and packing right now. Just found out all flying in, from Miami, PacificNWest right now. (yikes) I'm always the chef. Been-a-plannin' all morning. We will be driving in the morning...not all been together in 15yrs. An early thanksgiving it will not be. So no pie.

A breville juicer is not for puree. I just was pressed for time and it was rinsed. Some went into the back dry veg debris container, but most just stuck to the 'donut' ring and no juice came out. I checked before continuing and scooped it with my hand and enjoyed like a kid with cookie dough. A good blender would do best. Cuisinart, maybe not.

(traveling to the Delaware shore where my parents live. Oysters and crabs and Chunkin'Punkin', lol)

I can't believe we are talkin' pumkin' and i am headed there, haha. We're Gonna Hurl.
(-see link for explination.)

I had no idea this was going on. My brother sent me the link. I can't believe they do not have a 'punkin' recipe contest!

Here is a link that might be useful: punkin chunkin

Solsthumper, thanks for your whole-pumpkin roasting method.
Since I always have trouble cutting and chunking butternut squash, I used your method. It worked great and I will be doing pumpkins and squash your way from now on.

Ok so I don't have an exact recipe and have only made this twice, once for Thanksgiving last year and once beforehand to make sure it would taste decent. I usually make spanakopita for holidays, and every time my father tells me how in Greece his mother used to make it with pumpkin instead of spinach and why can't I make that. So last year I googled kolokithopita which can either mean zucchini pie or pumpkin pie, read a bunch of recipes, and decided to attempt it. I still prefer spanakopita but if you want to make something with pumpkin that is savory and not sweet here is something to try. Here is an approximation of what I did.

Kolokithopita
2 medium size pumpkins
1 medium size onion
a couple sprigs of green onion
1/2 can evaporated milk
2 eggs
big handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 - 1 pound feta cheese crumbled
pepper
Filo dough
melted butter

Preheat oven to 400
Peel and grate pumpkin, sprinkle on some salt and place in colander to drain. Leave it for awhile then squeeze pumpkin with your hands to drain excess water. In a pot add some olive oil and sauté both onions till the white ones are translucent. Add grated/strained pumpkin and cook until you feel pumpkin is done. Add parsley, evaporated milk, feta, and pepper. (This is the point that I taste the mixture to adjust the proportion of feta. I start with 1/2 lb then taste and add till it tastes right to me ) Add two beaten eggs and stir to combine.
Brush a 13 x 9 pan with melted butter place 1 sheet of filo in pan. Brush filo with butter add another sheet of filo. Continue for about 6 sheets of filo. (a few more is fine also) Spread pumpkin mixture evenly on top of filo and top with another 6 or so sheets of filo dough. Score the top layers of feta and bake for approx 45 minutes or until filo is crispy and browned.

The Kaddo Bowrani is very good, at the Helmand (owned by a nephew of Hamid Karzai).

There was another Afghan restaurant - the Silk Road - down the street from The Helmand, some years ago, and it had an even better pumpkin recipe - kind of a ravioli/turnover made with pumpkin, Pumpkin Bulanee as well as their Buranee Kadu. Their Norange Palaw (a delicately seasoned chicken, eggplant or lamb stew served under a mound of saffron rice and garnished with almonds, pistachios, orange zest, rose water and cardamom). The fragrance of the rosewater was amazing

Sadly, the restaurant went out of business.

I've found a lot of really good Asian recipes that use pumpkin in very different ways - pumpkin is not just for pie any more.

I do love pumpkin pie though, especially leftover for breakfast, and I've made my own with fresh butternut squash. Fooled even my BIL who hates squash.

Sweet Betsy, I'm so happy it worked well for you :) I got two more pumpkins over the weekend, and they'll both be roasting later today.

Mom47, we're also fans of butternut squash in pies, breads, soups, and even candied. Can't get enough.

Sol

You will have better luck if you buy the small pumpkins called "Sugar Pie pumpkins." I found them very easy to roast, they scraped out nicely, not stringy, and then I used that instead of canned. I usually use canned cause I can't always find sugar pie pumpkins, but it made me feel good to know the pies were all from scratch with no canned stuff.

A few years ago I conducted a taste test of 2 varieties of home grown pumpkin and butternut squash, and wrote about it on my blog. You can read it at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Henbogle pumpkin tasting

Sheshebop - thanks for the tip. I went and picked up a sugar pie pumpkin yesterday from a local farm stand. There is pie in our future :)