Adventures in Pumpkin Butter

           My tactics had shifted from my prior attempt; this year, I decided to keep things simple. When you are looking at recipes online, there is never a guarantee that someone’s “special ingredient” is going to hold up its end of the bargain. I did, however, want a twist to my pumpkin butter: something unique. I had heard of a recipe for caramel apple butter a little while ago and thought that caramel would be a great addition to my own butter. Having an intimate knowledge of the kind of dirt that is likely to reside here on the farm, I washed my pumpkin thoroughly. I then preheated my oven to 350° and split my pumpkin in half with a butcher knife. Some people like to save the seeds so that they can eat those too. I tried baking them the first year, but I didn’t like the result with this variety. The skin was difficult to crack off, so I was left with the option of eating the seeds whole: it wasn’t really for me. You can make pumpkin butter with most varieties of pumpkin, though, so if the seeds look good to you, you can save them to make a tasty snack.

            I like to cut up a few pieces of butter and sprinkle a little bit of sugar before I place my pumpkin face down. This can be related back to my earlier remark about people’s “secret ingredients” which probably does nothing for the actual flavor of the final product. I do this in favor of putting a small amount of water in the pan. It is supposed to keep the pumpkin from burning and adhering to the bottom. As the pumpkin cooks, it releases a tremendous amount of its own juices, so I find adding the water unnecessary as long as your heat isn’t too high. Do be sure to pick a nice, deep pan, so that as the pumpkin cooks, you don’t end up with juice boiling over. I covered my pumpkin with tin foil and popped the old girl in the oven. If your oven is large enough and you have more than one deep pan, you can cook both halves of your pumpkin at the same time; circumstances did not afford me that luxury. I cooked both halves separately until a fork slid very easily into the pumpkin: no resistance. Cook time can vary depending on the size and variety of pumpkin you choose. Larger pumpkins I have used took five hours or longer. My pumpkin was probably between twenty two and twenty six pounds and it took about three and a half hours before I was satisfied with the results. I then left my pumpkin to cool.

Tags: Baking, Food, Pumpkin Butter, Pumpkins, U-Pick

Categorised in: Pumpkins, U-Pick

This post was written by Jim Riley