For the love of everything good and holy HELP ME! (Pumpkin)

Kiwi13

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:54 pm

I promised my kids we'd make pumpkin pie for Simchas Torah.

The pumpkin I stupidly helped them pick out is bigger than my freaking house. (Exaggeration obviously, but OMG...)

Help me...

Also, I never made pie before.

Crying

singleagain

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:54 pm

I just saw a tip online that said to cut the pumpkin from the bottom bc gravity or something... One sec I'll look

QueensMama

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:55 pm

Are you sure you have a good eating pumpkin? Pretty’s ire the huge ones are decorative and aren’t good for eating.

Kiwi13

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:55 pm

singleagain wrote:

I just saw a tip online that said to cut the pumpkin from the bottom bc gravity or something... One sec I'll look

What do you cut a pumpkin with?

steak knife?

Meat cleaver?

Electric chain saw?

challahchallah

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:56 pm

First question—are you sure you got a pie pumpkin? Usually the big ones are for carving and their flesh isn’t great for baking.

Kiwi13

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:57 pm

QueensMama wrote:

Are you sure you have a good eating pumpkin? Pretty’s ire the huge ones are decorative and aren’t good for eating.

Really?? This is hopeful. I adore the possibility that I might be able to HONESTLY tell them, "oops we bought the wrong kind of pumpkin for pie... oh, I know! Let's go shopping and pick out a pie!"

This sounds like the best plan if it's true!

dena613

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:58 pm

Kiwi13 wrote:

Canned pumpkin?

PinkFridge

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:59 pm

I third getting a small pumpkin.
You can put it in the oven for a little bit to soften.
I just made the pumpkin black bean soup from Celebrate (Elizabeth Kurtz) with one small pumpkin, chunked, instead of a can of pumpkin puree. It's a great soup!

challahchallah

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 7:59 pm

Kiwi13 wrote:

Yup, sounds like you bought the wrong kind of pumpkin. Go buy pure canned pumpkin if you want to make pie without the effort of roasting down a new pumpkin or buy a pie.

BetsyTacy

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:04 pm

Pumpkin pie is best from canned pumpkin.
Actually, pumpkin anything is best made from canned pumpkin.

The pick-me farm ones are cute, but save yourself agmas nefesh.

challahchallah

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:07 pm

BetsyTacy wrote:

Pumpkin pie is best from canned pumpkin.
Actually, pumpkin anything is best made from canned pumpkin.

The pick-me farm ones are cute, but save yourself agmas nefesh.

I agree. There might be a slight flavor improvement from fresh pumpkin but it’s almost impossible to get the texture as silky and it’s a ton of work. Just not worth the hassle. I do always buy 100% pure pumpkin though since pumpkin pie filling is not to my taste.

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:09 pm

Dd picked picked out a pumpkin and wants us to scoop out the flesh to use and then serve the food in the pumpkin (bowl) and cover. I'm going to pick up a can of pumpkin puree for a soup. We'll bake the pumpkin to get some flesh from the sides, but I dont expect to get too much more than that out of it if she wants to outer fruit intact.

Frumme

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:13 pm

Pro tip: the best pumpkin pies from scratch are actually made from butternut squashes. That's the secret honestly.

Also, do yourself a favor and buy a premade deep dish pie crust! Parbake it for 10 minutes or so and then add the filling-- this will ensure that your pie crust won't become soggy/underbaked.

PinkFridge

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:15 pm

And re canned pumpkin: Get 100% puree, not filling.

yidisheh mama

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:48 pm

And if you do end up cutting up a whole pumpkin, don't trash the seeds. Fresh, roasted pumpkin seeds are awesome! Just drizzle a little olive oil and salt, roast it, and season to taste.

challahchallah

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 8:49 pm

One food thing that does work well from whole pumpkins is toasting the seeds as a snack.

ETA: yidisheh mama you beat me to it!

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 9:12 pm

I love fresh toasted pumpkin seeds. Oh, the memories!

shanie5

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 10:23 pm

You can make pumpkin stew in the big pumpkin.
https://www.imamother.com/foru.....27539

Moonlight

Wed, Oct 07 2020, 10:25 pm

Also going to vote to get a can of pumpkin puree