Comments on: Preserving Pumpkin

By: Canning 101: A Couple Pumpkin Reminders | Food in Jars

Canning 101: A Couple Pumpkin Reminders | Food in Jars — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:29:41 +0000

[...] are two ways to preserve cooked pumpkin. You can cook it into puree and freeze it or you can cut it into cubes and pressure can it. That’s it. There aren’t any other [...]

By: Food in Jars » Whole Wheat Millet Pumpkin Bread

Food in Jars » Whole Wheat Millet Pumpkin Bread — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:59:01 +0000

[...] week, I wrote about things you can do with pumpkin puree. Here’s what I ended up doing with mine. It’s a little quick bread I tossed together [...]

By: tigress

tigress — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:12:45 +0000

marisa – i just finished off one of the two jars of pumpkin marmalade i made this year, and i think it is my favorite from the 2009 season. it is perfection on toast with butter. i have two blue pumpkins left from my garden and their days are numbered because i have to make some more. you will not be disappointed!

btw..i am so looking forward to your participation in the can jam!

By: Kim Cox

Kim Cox — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:43:06 +0000

Hey, Marisa:

There are some really interesting relish recipes in the November issue of BON APPETIT; beet chutney, chipotle cranberry sauce, and onion marmalade.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:33:30 +0000

So with the farmers’ markets and CSAs closing up shop for winter, what are we going to can for the next few months? I’m thinking when the lovely citrus fruits come to the markets, I’ll make marmalade?

On a related note, I’m bringing my homemade pickles for the Thanksgiving relish tray. How does dilly beans, pickled cauliflower, dilled green tomatoes and marinated red peppers sound? Plus curried apple chutney for turkey leftovers!

Emily, we’re definitely heading into citrus season, which means plenty of marmalades and fruit curds. There are still lots of local apples to be had, which means applesauce, apple butter and apple jelly (I really want to test out my jelly bag). Oh, and all the winter veggies that can be pickled (you remind me that I’ve been wanting to make a pickled cauliflower). That relish tray sounds amazing! -Marisa

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:13:00 +0000

So is it not safe to process pumpkin butter as well?

Rebecca, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, it is not recommended that people home can pumpkin butter, which is why I did not include mention of it in my post. I’m certain that there are lots of people out there who have been canning pumpkin butter at home for generations, but because of the density of it, it is risky. -Marisa

By: Fran

Fran — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:52:28 +0000

My mom told me to let the cooked pumpkin rest overnight in a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl in the fridge before using the puree or packing it for freezing. Also, she finds the microwave a quick-and-easy alternative to the oven for cooking the pumpkin – but do it on a glass plate instead of on a cookie sheet!

Fran, thanks for suggesting draining the pumpkin overnight, that’s a really terrific tip (and it’s giving me ideas for the squash dishes I typically make for Thanksgiving and Christmas). As far as microwaves go, I’ve been told they work really well for squash. However, I have this weird prejudice against cooking in the them. I’m okay with using a microwave to reheat, but for some reason, I don’t like to use them to cook. Crazy, particularly since I know that for certain things (like squash), they work really well. -Marisa