Pumpkin for pie....from scratch...

[Crazy4Canning]

It's fall and for some strange reason was inspired to try my own pumpkin for pie.

 

So, I bought a pumpkin from the store and baked it. Now I have to run it through the food mill. BUT, it's not that bright orange brown pumpkin pies usually are....is this normal?

 

I didn't choose a variety known for its sugaryness...but when I asked about the variety at Winco, the clerk looked at me like I was an alien and said she only knew of 3 types...small, medium, and large. (No lie...really.)

 

So methinks I'll have to go to a produce market, small farm, or the like.

 

Meanwhile, since I've already cooked up this pumpkin, I'm going to try it in a pie.

 

Anyone have a good pumpkin pie recipe?

[Kevin B 123]

When I do my-own pumpkin, it looks "other" than store canned. However, when I add the PIE ingredients, it looks pretty much the same.

 

I noticed too, that one years pumpkins may look different than another years crop too...... Acidity or climate, maybe temperature at maturation hold the key to this. A “white” ( skinned) pumpkin looks identical inside, ( to me) tastes the same too. Others say the whites ore altogether different

[preparing]

I agree. Last year my pumpkin was orange, but a yellowish I guess and then after adding the spices, it was normal pumpkin pie color.

[ol'momma]

Anytime I have made pumpkin pie from scratch, it's been on the yellowish side, while the canned stuff seems more orange/brown. I get the best results from buying the small (cantalope sized) pie pumpkins. They're flesh is nice and dense, not stringy and sweet.

On the subject of pumpkin pie, I have a friend who makes the most sinfully yummy version. He substitutes cream cheese for the milk in the basic on the can recipe...MMMMmmmm Definately worth trying!!

[Crazy4Canning]

Got it. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll be sure and take pics.

 

At any rate, since I'm making pie crust, my DH will be getting apple pie. He's been begging for it...and brownies...and a cookie...you'd never know he was diabetic but as hard as he's been working making me shelves, some controlled sugar doesn't matter.

 

I love to spoil him.

[Kevin B 123]

I know from working in restaurants that apple pie mix is from a variety of apple types, sweet, firm, juicy, tart, etc., which makes for a nice pleasing consistency & appearance. I wonder therefore if the industry does a similar think with Pumpkin, because pumpkin almost always looks the same, year to tear, brand to brand.

 

I used to cook for a family of diabetics, and made pies, cakes etc, which they swore were filled with sugar. Back then, Sacarine was available, as was sugar twin, and sweet & Low. I mixed these in small amounts, along with Lemon, apple,& orange juice and maybe 1 or 2 TEA-spoons of sugar ( as a binder). It works well.

 

Of course today with a larger selection of artificial sweeter, one could use Splenda, Xylitol, NutraSweet, which were not available then, in baking! An Herb called Stevia is very sweet and is often chosen over sugar for diabetics, and dieters.

[Kevin B 123]

I have used cream cheese, and sour cream, and buttermilk in pumpkin pie, all Good!!!

[Shandy]

We just use the basic pumpkin pie recipe with ours and it always turns out well. I'm going to try replacing with cream cheese this year and see how it goes. Thanks for the idea!

 

This year, the cubes are a darkish yellowish brownish color. Some years they are bright orange. Others kind of a pale yellow. I don't like this year's color. But like others have said, once it's made into pie (or bread or cookies), it looks the same as the pumpkin from a can.

[Shandy]

Oh, and we've used all manner of pumpkins in our pies and breads. The pie pumpkins are nicer, in my opinion, because they are smaller, which is nice to deal with when you are cutting it, and they have more meat per square inch (I don't know if that is technically true, but it *feels* true when I'm working with it). But you can use any kind of pumpkin and your stuff still ends up tasting yummy and pumpkiny.

[JCK88]

I had to laugh about this thread because one year they had those "cinderella" pumpkins at the farm stand. Those are the European pumkins that are wider, not as tall, and sort of look like the cinderella pumpkin coach illustrations you see in children's books. I was not familiar with the variety but was intrigued. I asked the farm stand lady how they taste, LOL She looked at me like I was from another planet but then said she didn't know! I decided to get one to can and cook because they were just beautiful and looked good. The lady went on and on about how she did not know if they were safe to eat and they were selling them for ornamental purposes! Of course, the stuff was fine, and my canned pumpkin worked great in all the rolls, pies and soups.....but we always joked about taking our lives in our hands eating pumpkins we weren't sure were "safe" to eat!

 

I use the pumpkin pie recipe that is on the side of the commercial canned pumpkin but I'm allergic to milk so I use soy milk or Vance's Dari-Free. It still tastes great. I'm allergic to wheat, so my crust is made from other kinds of flour. Still tastes fine.

 

Sometimes, when I don't have time for crust, I simply bake the pie filling in a glass loaf pan and we serve it up later in small custard cups or dessert bowls. My family loves it--and less calories. (Can be garnished to look fancy with whipped cream, chocolate shavings)

[Crazy4Canning]

Originally Posted By: Kevin B 123

I used to cook for a family of diabetics, and made pies, cakes etc, which they swore were filled with sugar. Back then, Sacarine was available, as was sugar twin, and sweet & Low. I mixed these in small amounts, along with Lemon, apple,& orange juice and maybe 1 or 2 TEA-spoons of sugar ( as a binder). It works well.

Of course today with a larger selection of artificial sweeter, one could use Splenda, Xylitol, NutraSweet, which were not available then, in baking! An Herb called Stevia is very sweet and is often chosen over sugar for diabetics, and dieters.

Kevin, thanks for the tips - the juices is what I do for sweetening - that and Stevia. I am not an advocate of Splenda, Xylitol, or NutraSweet (aspartame). They actually change their molecular structure when baking and the baked goods turn bouncy, have a terrible aftertaste or are overly sweet. Bleech.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted By: JCK88

I was not familiar with the variety but was intrigued. I asked the farm stand lady how they taste, LOL She looked at me like I was from another planet but then said she didn't know! I decided to get one to can and cook because they were just beautiful and looked good. The lady went on and on about how she did not know if they were safe to eat and they were selling them for ornamental purposes!

For those of us trying to stay on the DL with prepping, it is helpful to know that you can bring home baskets of pumpkins and squash for "decorations" in the fall with impunity.

It's pretty bad (or good for us, I guess) that even the lady at a FARM STAND didn't know a pumpkin is edible! Sheesh!

[Andrea]

Well, my little sugar pumpkins did miserably this year (I only grew one), so our Thanksgiving pies will be from butternut squash, which outperformed itself! I've found that fresh pumpkin works best if it is drained over night in the fridge. Fresh tends to be a bit more watery than canned. When I started doing that, no one could tell that my pies weren't from canned pumpkin.

 

Oh, in addition to the cream cheese, add a generous splash of brandy. Yummmm.

[Crazy4Canning]

Oh draining....that would make great sense now. I ended up feeding the worms because it was SO watery it just didn't look right. I couldn't imagine adding MILK to that soupy mess.

 

Then again...brandy for the cook might've been a good idea too, (just kidding, I rarely drink!)

[Lele]

I remember reading somewhere that most commercial canned pumpkin is made from Hubbard squash. I make a yellow squash pie in the summer that tastes like a light pumpkin pie. Someone posted the recipe a long time ago on this forum and it has been a favorite pie for us in the summer.

 

Lele

[Tracie]

Originally Posted By: Lele

I remember reading somewhere that most commercial canned pumpkin is made from Hubbard squash. I make a yellow squash pie in the summer that tastes like a light pumpkin pie. Someone posted the recipe a long time ago on this forum and it has been a favorite pie for us in the summer.

Lele

This is true. They use pumpkins and a variety of different squashes, including butternut and hubbard. They're all similar and can be used interchangeably.

My new favorite pumpkin is the long island cheese pumpkin. It's called that because it looks rather like a wheel of cheese - like the 'cinderella" pumpkins described above. It was delish.

I've always avoided eating the large pumpkins. I personally feel the quality and flavor is lower -- much like a large zucchini is nowhere near as yummy as smaller zuchinis. But yes, they are edible.