Back when the dangers of Bisphenol-A became well-known, I set out to eliminate as much of it as I can from my home. One of my mottos is “Better safe than sorry.”
One of the things I cut back on and have pretty much eliminated is canned foods. The only canned products that come through my doors are those that come in BPA-free cans (click for a list of BPA-free canned products in Canada). I realized that a lot of what I was buying could easily be made at home. Sure, it’s not as quick and convenient as picking up a can at the store, but it is so much healthier and you know exactly how it was made and what’s in it. Plus, it’s fresher and tastes much better. Like this pumpkin puree I make each fall.
Now, you can’t make pumpkin puree with the same pumpkins you carve to make jack-o-lanterns, you must use “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins.”
These pumpkins can be easily found at most grocery stores during the fall and when you find them, stock up, make a huge batch, and freeze it to make things like cookies, muffins, pies, loaves, soups, lattes…‘tis the season for everything pumpkin, right?
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice each in half and remove the stem. I usually bake two pumpkins at a time.
Scoop out the seeds and save them for roasting!
To easily remove the stem, make a cut on each side, and snap it off.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, place the pumpkin halves facing down.
Bake for about 1 hour. Timing will depend on the size of the pumpkins. You will know they are done when a fork slides through easily.
Let the pumpkins cool. Once cooled, scoop out the insides and place in a food processor or blender.
Process until there are no chunks left and the puree is smooth.
Separate into one cup potions and place in storage jars suitable for the freezer.
These 2 pumpkins gave me 5 ½ cups of puree. Not bad. And so much cheaper than the canned version!
Printer-friendly version