how t cook pumpkin

[Kristie Kinney]

hello

i hope this is ok to post here. i have some pumpkins i need to cook for cookies but have no idea how to cook them. any advice.

kristie

[Claire Petersky]

Hi Kristie!

You need to buy yourself a good, basic cookbook, like "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook". Another way to find out this information is: if you have web access, you could have put "How to cook pumpkin" in a google search and got a lot of hits. Further, probably a better place to post would have been in the newsgroup rec.food.cooking, or rec.food.baking.

Since I'm nice, though, I won't make you repost some place else, buy a book, or use google. Here's how to cook pumpkin: you remove the stem and seeds. Then you slice, peel and then cut the pumpkin into small pieces. Put in a saucepan with a little water, cover and simmer until it's tender. Drain, let cool, and force through a strainer, or mash with a potato masher.

[My side]

Depending on how much pumpkin you have --- If it is a lot another way that eliminates the arduous peeling chore is to clean and chop up the pumpkin into squares (?) and put them into a 275 oven on cookie sheets until the flesh is soft. Then just scoop the pumpkin meat out of its skin, blend and away you go.

[Katra]

Peel and steam until soft, then mash.

K.

[Pat Kiewicz]

I process a lot of squash and pumpkins for use in pies and other baked goods.

Cut the pumpkin into large chunks. DO NOT PEEL.

Steam the chunks until soft or bake in a covered dish with a small amount of water. (I have a very large steamer, myself.)

Remove the steamed chunks and allow to cool enough to handle.

Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and run it through a food mill (my practice) or puree in a food processor.

The resulting puree can be frozen for later use. I prefer to put it into quart freezer bags (with zip closures) and freeze them in flat blocks, about 3 cups per bag.

[Kristie Kinney]

[EV]

I'm a little late coming in on this thread and people have already given you great ways to cook pumpkin, but there's still one more way.

Wash the outside, chop it into pieces as big as your palm, put them on plate skin side up and microwave on full power till the flesh is soft. Time depends on the quanitity, how big the pieces are and the power of your microwave. When done, scoop the flesh out etc.

I use this method for all kinds of hard skinned squash type things.

EV

[Charles Newton]

Depends on the pumpkin. They stir-fry them in Japan and the Philippines (the small pumkins). I like the small pumpkins. I wrap them in aluminum foil and bake at 275 - 300 for about an hour. Then, I remove the pumpkin from the foil, slice it up, remove the seeds, skin it, and place the slices of baked flesh into a frying pan on simmer with a lid for about 30 minutes with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. You can't beat that bitch, guaranteed. Can't beat it. - C.