How to Roast a Pumpkin and Make Pumpkin Purée

I cannot believe it's been over a year since my last post! I also can't believe I never got this particular topic posted. Every year I roast at least one pumpkin so that I have a freezer stash of pumpkin purée to last me through the year and sate my pumpkin obsession. At least once every year I tell someone about the process of doing it. Four years ago, I took pictures of the step by step process. And yet, somehow, I still managed to lapse on writing it out to share.

Well, I'm finally going to do it! This year is the year! And now we can share our love for pumpkins just in time for Thanksgiving festivities!

So, first thing's first. We need to get a bit of misconception out of the way. Here's a truth bomb for you: all pumpkins are edible. Yep, that's right, from the tiny Jack-be-Little pumpkins to the huge monstrosities that seem ready to convert into a carriage to whisk a future princess off to a ball. Despite this little factoid, most from-scratch bakers limit themselves to the pie pumpkins which are small and thick walled and often require a feat of strength to prep them before they can cook 'em up.

It's not surprising though, the principal reasons provided for favoring pie pumpkins over others are the fact that pie pumpkins have more natural sugar making them sweeter and the larger the pumpkin is, the more water content it contains. The thing is though, by only selecting pie pumpkins to work with, you are volunteering for a serious workout and likely spending more money on the process than is necessary given the smaller yield provided by these little fruits. The reality is, since most pumpkin goodies have sugar in the recipes, the extra bit provided by the pie pumpkin is not even worth mentioning. Creating a savory dish? You can always sweeten it if needed, but then it'd be counter-productive. A decent fine mesh strainer can solve the excess water content issue easily. Yes, it takes more time, but if we are talking bang for your buck, the best bet is to get the largest pumpkin you can get that will fit on your pans and in your oven. Pro tip - if you, your friends, or your neighbors use pumpkins for Halloween decorations, they often remain in good enough condition afterward to go ahead and roast as long as they haven't been carved or decorated.

Ok, so, let's get started! Once I'm ready to get going, I like to give the pumpkins a scrub in the sink, just to make sure any dirt or critters that may have been on them from the outside are washed away. Next you are going to want to cut the pumpkin into roughly equal halves. Cut around the stem, so it will be on one of your halves.

Next, you'll want to scrape out the innards. I've used all kinds of tools, but honestly, those cheap little scrapers that come with the pumpkin carving kits are pretty fantastic for this job. Just keep a trash can near by so you can dump it right in. Because you aren't digging into the insides of an intact pumpkin (like when you carve it), this task is less messy than you may think.

After your pumpkin halves are cleaned out, you'll want to place the pumpkin halves face down on a foil lined cookie sheet. Your cookie sheet must have sides because the moisture from the pumpkin will drip down and can make a big ol' mess. You'll need sided pans to keep it in check. This moisture helps to steam the pumpkin while it cooks though, so it's a good thing to have it there.

Place the cookie sheets in the oven and roast (bake) the pumpkin at 450° for 45 min to 1 hour depending on the size of your pumpkin. Larger pumpkins or those with particularly thick walls will need to roast a bit longer. Typically, the part towards the top will pull away from the skin and drop to the cookie sheet leaving a funny shaped bubble. It's ok if the skin on that bubble gets a bit dark or even burned looking - after the flesh separates from it, it cooks up pretty fast. You'll know your pumpkin is done if a fork slides into the fleshy part like butter - smoother than butter really, especially if that butter is cold... In any case, if you don't want to handle the pumpkin to try to get a fork into the underside, you'll know it's done because the top of your "bubble" is getting dark and the edges of the pumpkin where it rests on the foil are dark. Ovens vary, so you may need to adjust time or temp if yours runs particularly hot or cooler than most.

Once you pull the pumpkin out of the oven, you'll need to let it cool enough that you can handle it, so take a break for 30 minutes or so. You may be able to flip each side over and scoop out the flesh, but in most cases after roasting, you can peel the skin right off and discard it. Same goes for the stem, it typically pulls right off. The fleshy part then takes a whirl in the food processor until smooth.

At this point, if you have a medium to large pumpkin, you'll want to strain the extra liquid off by placing your purée in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl for 20 minutes or so. If you choose not to strain it, you may yield more total purée, but then you may have to adjust recipes to avoid batters and such from being too runny. I didn't strain mine for the longest time and just worked around any watery issues. By straining ahead of time, I don't have to worry as much, though sometimes I then forget I need to add water to certain recipes. Oops.

After straining is complete, I measure out two cups of purée and place them into a quart sized freezer bag. This process is neater if you prop the bag in a large cup folding the top of the bag over the top of the cup to keep it in place. Two cups is roughly the size of a can of pumpkin purée, so this makes it easy to follow recipes that call for one can. I typically will then freeze these flat. To use them, I can pull the bags out of the freezer the day before or even several hours before I need to use them. They defrost amazingly quickly.

And that's it. Amaze your friends with your thrifty ways! Seriously though, a medium sized pumpkin can yield 4-5 quart sized bags turning a $4 pumpkin into 4-5 equivalent cans of pumpkin at 80¢ - $1 a piece. You may yield more or less, but it's a decent savings, especially if you grab your pumpkins on sale, pick up leftovers from local pumpkin patches looking to get rid of extras, or take your neighbor's "old" decorations off their hands. Offer up some pumpkin goodies as a trade and everybody wins!