Difference in Pumpkins Cooking vs Jack O lantern

[Doodle Do]

Is there a difference in taste? I want to can pumkpin and so far I only have jack o lanterns that are doing well. How about the seeds? Any difference in roasting and taste?

 

[me&thegals]

There's a HUGE difference! I never liked cooking with my garden pumpkins until I got a great variety for baking. It is called Cinderella or Musquee de Provence (Seed Saver's Exchange). They are loaded with pumpkin meat that is bright orange, smooth and very flavorful. I will never buy canned pumpkin again and have been craving my favorite pumpkin recipes since I ran out of my frozen stash this spring!

Regarding seeds, I'm sure there's some difference in size, chewiness, etc., but I think pretty much any seed will work for roasting. I use all my squash seeds (pumpkin and others) for roasting. Other than size and tenderness, they all are similar and taste great!

 

[simple life]

There's a HUGE difference! I never liked cooking with my garden pumpkins until I got a great variety for baking. It is called Cinderella or Musquee de Provence (Seed Saver's Exchange). They are loaded with pumpkin meat that is bright orange, smooth and very flavorful. I will never buy canned pumpkin again and have been craving my favorite pumpkin recipes since I ran out of my frozen stash this spring!

Regarding seeds, I'm sure there's some difference in size, chewiness, etc., but I think pretty much any seed will work for roasting. I use all my squash seeds (pumpkin and others) for roasting. Other than size and tenderness, they all are similar and taste great!

How did you freeze your pumpkin? Just wondering the best way to do it. Whether it has to be cooked and mashed first or if you sliced it up and stored it in chunks to be cooked later. I know stupid question, but I want to find the easiest way to do this.

 

[RedClayGardener]

My pumpkins were just labled "pumpkin" on the seed pack. Is there any other way to tell if you have a cooking pumkin or a carving pumpkin? Do carving pumkins taste less sweet or pumpkin-y? Just curious...

Thanks!

 

[poppycat]

How did you freeze your pumpkin? Just wondering the best way to do it. Whether it has to be cooked and mashed first or if you sliced it up and stored it in chunks to be cooked later. I know stupid question, but I want to find the easiest way to do this.

I bake it in the oven, run it through the food mill and then freeze it in jars or those little plastic boxes. I bet you could freeze it in chunks if you were pressed for time. I do that with butternut squash.

When I'm making pumpkin pie or bread, I usually prepare two or three times the amount of pumpkin that I need and freeze the rest. It saves the work later on.

 

[sunnychooks]

I've alway loved cooking with fresh pumpkin! I've found that the smaller varieties are the sweetest and most flavorful for cooking.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm trying this for the first time this year with a type called Rouge Vif D'Atemps (sp). They are sort of like the Cinderella-shaped pumpkins, very red-orange and lovely. They say they are ideal for pumpkin pie and such, so I can't wait to try them.

Me&, have you got a simple pumpkin pie filling recipe? I would like to go ahead and mix the pumpkin for this and freeze or can it.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I never liked pumpkin pie until my mom grew her own pumpkins and made pie with them. Then I was addicted!

Yes, the smaller pumpkins are typically the sweet pumpkin varieties.

To make pie, you cut the pumpkin into large chunks and roast it (flesh side down, skin side up) in the oven . . . I think 375 F for something like 45 min(?). Basically you want it to brown around the edges and be easy to put a fork through. Once it cools down, you can run the flesh (no skin) through a food mill, or I guess mashing it would work too. Then you can go ahead with a pie or freeze in portions for making pies or other goodies later. I haven't canned it, but you could obviously do that too.

Sweet pumpkins are a garden staple in my family. I will never buy the canned junk, ever.

 

[me&thegals]

Oh, joy! A place for me to babble about the finer points of good pumpkins

Simplelife: I bake all my squash (pumpkins being just another type of winter squash) 1 of 2 ways. I cut them in half, remove all seeds, place them face down on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 until tender--time depending on size. Or, I leave them whole, wash them well, stab them all over with knife for steam valves and bake them whole until soft, on a cookie sheet to catch the drippings. Then, I opened them up and simply scooped out the flesh right into freezer containers. My Musquee were so soft and tender that I didn't even mash them up or otherwise process them before freezing.

I have seen most pie pumpkins are small, but please consider trying the Musquee de Provence, Cinderella or Rouge De'Atemps. They are very heavy (25 lb) and yield LOTS of meat.

Beekissed, I don't have a filling recipe but just use the basic Betty Crocker type of recipe. I will post a few of my favorite recipes using pumpkin

Eggplant-Pumpkin-Feta Lasagna--a lot of work but a great way to use up tons of fall veggies, very tasty and feeds a crowd

2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin
1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
5 tomatoes
1 pint cottage cheese
9 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 cup pesto
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
15-ounce can tomato sauce
lasagna noodles
1-1/3 shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Roast pumpkin in oven until browned and tender, about 30 min. Fry eggplant in skillet, turning once, until charred and tender, 10-15 min. Halve tomatoes and place on baking sheet for last 15 min of pumpkin time. Cook until tender and wrinkly. In bowl, mix cottage cheese, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold roasted pumpkin into ricotta mixture. Spoon half of the tomato sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Lay noodles over sauce. Arrange single layer of eggplant and top with half the cottage cheese mixture. Cover with more sheets of noodles. Arrange roasted tomatoes evenly over the sheets and spoon the remaining half of the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with remaining noodles. Pour remaining tomato sauce over all and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 min.

Pumpkin (or squash) Oatmealeven kids enjoy this colorful, slightly sweet morning treat!

3 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups milk
1 cups pumpkin puree
t pumpkin pie spice
1 T cinnamon

Cook milk and oats until desired consistency. Add remaining ingredients, stir until blended and serve. Add sweetener as desired.

Weight Watchers Chocolate Cakevery easy and tasty

2 cups pumpkin
1 box chocolate cake mix

Blend just until cake is moistened. Spoon into greased muffin cups or 8x8 square baking dish. Bake according to directions on cake mix. Enjoy this lean, low-cal, high vitamin A dessert! Great topped with Cool Whip.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cakeexcellent! The pumpkin and spice add just a hint of color and flavor but lots of nutrition. Super easy, super fast.

1 package angel food cake mix
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 T pumpkin pie spice
1 cup water

Mix all together 1 min, then beat another minute. Bake in a tube pan at 350 for approximately 40-45 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert in pan until thoroughly cooled.

12 servingsonly 132 calories and 20% of vitamin A for the day!

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups pumpkin puree
cup vegetable oil
cup applesauce
2 cups white sugar
6 eggs
4 3/4 whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the loaf should spring back when lightly pressed.

Note: Mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts or whole fresh/frozen cranberries make great add-ins. Can cut this recipe in thirds for only 1 loaf of bread. Also makes wonderful muffinsjust bake 20 min instead of 45-60.

Pumpkin-Walnut BiscuitsPumpkinA Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year, by DeeDee Stovel

Makes 16-20. My kids devoured these!

1 cups whole wheat pastry flour
cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
teaspoon ground allspice
teaspoon ground cinnamon
teaspoon nutmeg
teaspoon salt
cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
1 cup unsweetened cooked pumpkin

1. Heat oven to 400.
2. Combine all dry ingredients together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Dump the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the nuts, if desired. Stir in the pumpkin and mix until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Scrape the dough onto a flour surface and knead a few times, adding a little more flour if it is very sticky (I actually had to add almost cup buttermilk because it was too dry).
4. Pat the dough into a -inch-thick circle and cut biscuits with a round, 2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping into canister of flour between cuts.
5. Place the biscuits 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 min, until risen and lightly browned. Wonderful plain or with butter or honey!

Nutrition (1 biscuit): with nuts without nuts
Calories 144 128
Fat 7.6 g 6 g
Fiber 2 g 2 g
Vitamin A 67% RDA 66% RDA

Notes:
Tried and trued, loved by my kids and husband.

Can mix up all dry ingredients ahead of time when you have an extra few minutes. Then, mix in remaining ingredients right before baking.

Great way to sneak vitamin A into familys diet. Would go wonderfully with a hearty soup, pork, poultry or just about anything. Very tasty served with lean sausage or eggs for breakfast.

Pumpkin Fluff Dipwonderful with fresh gingersnap or other spice cookies

8 ounces frozen whipped topping
5 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin
1 t pumpkin pie spice
t vanilla

Mix pudding, pumpkin and spice. Fold in whipped topping and vanilla. Chill until served.

Vanilla Pumpkin Pie
1 cups pumpkin puree
12 ounces evaporated milk
2 eggs
cup white sugar
1 T flour
t salt
1 t vanilla
t cinnamon
Preheat oven to 450. Combine all ingredients. Pour into pie shell and bake for 20 min. Turn oven down to 350 and continue baking 40 more min.

Sorry--I guess I got carried away

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Me&thegals -- that lasagna recipe looks soooooo good! Thanks for sharing it!