A simple rant

[AlyBlu]

Why is it that any pumpkin recipe is by the can! I picked it (hopefully next year, I will grow it), I roasted the dang thing, I rung the moisture out of it - and every recipe calls for a can - drives me nuts.

I know - stupid rant - I know the measurements and I know how to improvise.


But why is it that this simple, wholesome food is only thought of as a canned product!!!


BTW - my homemade pumpkin pies and breads rocked!

[johnjmw]

My first guess is that if you can your pumpkin in mason jars the most common size is the pint. Just grab a jar/can off the shelf. I don't know to many recipes that call for larger volumes unless your doubling them. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone canning quarts of pumpkin.
John

[Shamrock1121]

1. You can't can pureed pumpkin - only pumpkin chunks. Source: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/tips/fall/pumpkins.html

2. You probably can't home-can pumpkin for the cheap price of commercially canned if you factor in the price of purchase of the pumpkin plus the price of utilities to process it.

3. I use pumpkin 2-4 times a month. Commercially canned pumpkin is a great way to keep a year's worth it in storage since it's only available fresh for a few weeks. I've been purchasing it for 79-cents a can. It fits nicely in my limited food budget ($50/week) and is an excellent whole food.

4. Pumpkin that is commercially canned is actually better for you. The heat used during the canning process causes more "bioavailable" beta-carotene to form. That means the body can process the nutrient more effectively.

5. You get a consistant taste and texture when you use commercially canned pumpkin. Fresh pumpkins are occasionally more like a spin of the roulette wheel. Fresh pumpkins are anything BUT consistant - especially with all the varieties of pumpkin grown. Not all are sweet... Not to mention all the work they are to process. I don't have the garden space for water-guzzling pumpkins. So if I purchase the pumpkins and then the price of heat processing them at home for canning, that 79-cents is probably cheaper.

I'll choose canned pumpkin, but I'll mill my own grains/seeds/beans. That would be my rant... ;)

-Karen

[AlyBlu]

I am not talking about canning it - I am saying that every recipe I come across wants you to use that dang Libby's can of pumpkin.


Grandpa requested a few years back that I make homemade pumpkin pies, from scratch, including roasting the pumpkin - it is a childhood memory for him. *Now that I have gotten that down - he has started asking for other things, so I have been recipe hunting - and recipes, instead of saying "Two Cups" or what ever needed volume now all seem to say "One Can" or "Half a can" *- that was the part I was ranting about.

Grandpa has an excellent source for Hubbard Pumpkins.

I froze the one I roasted so I would have it on hand. and Ihave a second one in cold storage that I will roast in the next few weeks.

[Shamrock1121]

I am not talking about canning it - I am saying that every recipe I come across wants you to use that dang Libby's can of pumpkin.


Grandpa requested a few years back that I make homemade pumpkin pies, from scratch, including roasting the pumpkin - it is a childhood memory for him. *Now that I have gotten that down - he has started asking for other things, so I have been recipe hunting - and recipes, instead of saying "Two Cups" or what ever needed volume now all seem to say "One Can" or "Half a can" *- that was the part I was ranting about.

Grandpa has an excellent source for Hubbard Pumpkins.

I froze the one I roasted so I would have it on hand. *and Ihave a second one in cold storage that I will roast in the next few weeks.

Pureed pumpkin is pureed pumpkin - fresh or out of the can. You substitute fresh pureed pumpkin (well-drained) in equal amounts as canned pumpkin. If the recipe calls for cups, use the same amount. If it calls for a 15-oz. can then just use a kitchen scale to weigh the amount. OR you'll find 15-oz. of pumpkin puree is equal to about 1-3/4 c. puree.

Simple as that...

You get approx. 1-cup of pureed pumpkin from 1-pound of pumpkin.

-Karen