Pumpkin! :(

[sr.christinaosf]

We just received two huge pumpkins.

We're going to have a guessing contest as to their weight, but come early November, we'll have to 'butcher' them. I've been in the pumpkin business for years, but am wondering if any one has developed any great tricks or tips for the laborious task of prepping pumpkin for winter preservation.

 

[rz3300]

I have never found the need to preserve them for the winter, so my only method end up in getting the seeds out and having a delicious snack to have on hand for some time. I hope that you find your answer though, so best of luck to you.

 

[Corzhens]

As I had posted in another thread, pumpkin is an alien vegetable here although there are supermarkets that sell pumpkin during the Halloween period. And if I can relate it to squash, I guess the preservation that we do is to place it in a cool place, not in the fridge though but just in a cool place like a cellar. The farmers say that the squash will last a week longer that way. And I'm sure pumpkin is a close relative of squash.

 

[sr.christinaosf]

I like to mash it and put it in bags so it's ready to go for baking cookies and muffins, etc. in the coming months.

 

[cupcakechef]

I like to mash it and put it in bags so it's ready to go for baking cookies and muffins, etc. in the coming months.

I definitely think this is a good idea - I would probably just make it into pumpkin puree and then that way it's super versatile for a bunch of things, and can be stored.

http://neighborfoodblog.com/2014/10/leftover-pumpkin-puree-recipes.html

I just posted that link in another thread and it could be useful.

There's also advice on there about how to store puree, whether you'd be refrigerating it short term, or freezing it for the longer term