Pumpkin Curd Recipe, Whats Cooking America (2024)

FAQs

How to cook Halloween pumpkin? ›

For a savory recipe, rub the pumpkin with olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Place pumpkin flesh side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast at 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes. Peel off the skin and enjoy!

To Boil: Halve the pumpkin; remove seeds, pulp, and stringy portion. Cut into small pieces and peel. Cover with lightly salted water and boil for about 25 minutes, or until tender. Mash, purée in a blender or food processor or put through a food mill.

The water does not need to cover the pumpkin pieces. Cover the pot and boil for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender, or steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Check for doneness by poking with a fork. Drain the cooked pumpkin in a colander.

Canned pumpkin (labeled as "100% pure pumpkin") is a purée of pumpkin that is sometimes mixed with other kinds of winter squash. It is unsweetened and does not contain any added spices. Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks.

Choose sweet varieties, such as Cinderella and peanut pumpkins if you want to bake pies, quick breads, or other desserts. Turban squash works well in savory dishes. Not sure what you want to cook? A Hubbard squash can be used in either sweet or savory dishes!

Why does this work? The vinegar kills fungus, making it hard for the pumpkin to rot. That's why vinegar-soaked pumpkins look so new; they're unblemished by the grossness that inevitably befalls their untreated peers.

The best kind of pumpkin for Halloween carving is what's known as a field pumpkin. They're characterised by having a very hard, dark green hooked stem, which you can use as a handle. And they're the ones which are very easy to grow at home, but which we normally end up buying.

If you're desperate not to waste any of the carved pumpkin, you could save the flesh of the pieces you carved from the pumpkin. Cut them into wedges, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast until the flesh is soft. That will provide the prep for soups or dips, like hummus.

Begin by washing the pumpkin all over. Dry it off, so that it will not be slippery as you try to get it ready. Line a large, heavy baking sheet with parchment paper, and set the oven to about 400º.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the skin. Then remove pan from the oven, let the pumpkin cool for 10 minutes, then scoop out and use for whatever dish you'd prefer!

Do you have to peel pumpkin before boiling? ›

No need to peel

For thicker skinned squash it is often easier to cut the squash into large wedges, roast, and then peel the skin off after it's cooked when it's softer and easier.

Bake, microwave or boil? The most popular is to bake the pumpkin to get the puree. Start with a knife and a large meat mallet (to tap the knife). Cut the pumpkin in half; discard the stem section and stringy pulp.

“Choose a pumpkin that's firm and has its stem still intact,” Barlogia says. “Squeezing the pumpkin can tell you how long it's going to sit on your porch—any soft spots won't last long.” She adds that a healthy pumpkin has a strong stem, and pumpkins that are dehydrated have brittle stems that easily break off.

A fresh pumpkin should be solid to the touch. Avoid ones that have soft spots or sunken areas, as decay has already set in.

Most squash are good to eat, however jack-o-lantern pumpkins are grown for their large size , not for taste. This us what we do with jack-o-lantern pumpkins. All pumpkins are edible. But some are better than others.