At home I chose the nicest-looking fruit for the porch. I cut the other one onto chunks and removed the seeds. I usually cook my pumpkins in the oven, but the other day I read about doing it in an Instant Pot on Facebook and decided to give it a try.
The pumpkin was approximately 13 pounds. (I know that conventional wisdom says that small pie pumpkins make the most flavorful puree, but I've always had luck using full sized ones. And as an added bonus, the bigger the pumpkin the more seeds there are to roast.) Only half of the chunks fit in the Instant Pot, so I arranged the rest on a sheet pan and put it in the oven. Both sets of pumpkin were done at approximately the same time. The Instant Pot directions called for six minutes of cooking time, but that didn't include the time for the pot to come to pressure or the time for the pressure to release at the end.
It was interesting to compare the two sets of chunks. The baked pieces were firmer and had a few brown caramelized edges. The pressure cooked pieces looked a little mushy, and there was a substantial amount of liquid in the bottom of the pot. I transferred the baked pieces to a bowl and took both it and the Instant Pot container outside to the deck to cool off before I processed them.
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| Baked versus pressure cooked |
Twenty minutes later the baked pieces were easy to handle, but the ones from the Instant Pot were still hot. I sliced the skin off the cooked pieces, used the food processor to puree everything, then poured the puree into a coffee-filter lined colander. After letting the puree strain for a couple of hours I was able to make four 2-cup bags of puree and four 2-cup containers of pumpkin juice. It all went into the freezer. As an added bonus, while I was waiting for the liquid to drain out out I roasted the seeds and put that container in the pantry.
Now I'm ready for some Fall recipes!
Five years ago today: Color Me Confused
Ummm, this all sounds very interesting. Nice going!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I don't have one of those instapots since they're way outta my financial range, but I'd never have guessed there'd be such a difference in the two cooking ways. I may just have to try baking a pumpkin sometime and see how my luck runs with it.
ReplyDeleteNext time I cook a pumpkin I'd probably just go back to baking it...less to clean up.
Deletelooking forward to see what you make with the puree!
ReplyDeleteI set aside enough for the Thanksgiving pies. Other than that I'm sure it will be a combination of muffins and bread. Nothing fancey.
DeleteI'm curious. What do you do with the pumpkin juice?
ReplyDeleteI use it in random cooking. For example, I can add milk powder to it when I make muffins, which adds a touch of pumpkin taste to them without all the hassle of dealing with puree. It's also good as an ingredient in vegetable soup
DeleteGosh, I thought those pumpkins were just decorative and it was a different variety that was used for cooking.
ReplyDeleteI should get some pumpkins to roast. They're so cheap now, with Halloween almost here. You are inspiring me!
ReplyDeleteYes, now is the time to stock up on pumpkins.
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