Introduction:
It is once again Autumn and this means pumpkin flavored foods of all kinds (especially baked). The challenge living in France is that canned pumpkin does not exist, but fresh pumpkins like the one in Figure 1. are sold everywhere.
My current experiment is determining how to turn fresh pumpkin into a viable pumpkin puree for soups and baked goods. There are a variety of methods proposed: boiling, baking, and microwaving. Trial 2. is baking.
see Trial 1. here
Figure 1.1 The pumpkin test subject
Figure 1.2 Pumpkin with baguette for scale
Procedure:
- Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out guts. See Fig 2. (Save seeds for roasting. See Fig 4.)
- Place on baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil (see Figure 3.)
- Bake at 375oF (approx 190oC) for about 1.5 hours or until soft)
- Allow to cool
- Scoop out flesh and mash/blend until smooth
Figure 2. cut and gutted
Figure 3.
Figure 4. seeds for roasting (future post to come)
Results and Observations:
The end result from the baking produced a purée better suited for baked goods than the waterier purée from boiling the pumpkin. Baking took longer than expected, around two hours, and I cut the pumpkin halves into quarters to facilitate faster baking (see Fig 5.) Once scooped out and blended, the pumpkin purée turned out well (see Fig 6. for how much purée was produced from one pumpkin).
I have already used the purée for pumpkin snickerdoodles (recipe to come). Any excess pumpkin will be frozen for later baking adventures.
Figure 5. Halved halves
Figure 6. The finished product ready to be used or frozen for later
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