Elizabeth Andress and Judy Harrison, Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia
Harvest decorating is a sure sign that fall has arrived! Pumpkins can do double duty as harvest decorations and provide a powerhouse of good nutrition and savory flavor for meals and snacks. Use non-toxic paint or markers to decorate faces for Halloween, and then preserve the flesh to add fiber and valuable nutrients to your diet year-round.
Preserve safely
Freezing is the easiest way to preserve pumpkin and provide the best quality product. Select full-colored mature pumpkins with good texture. Scrub the outside with a produce brush under running water. Cut into cooking-sized sections and remove the seeds to be dried or roasted later. Cook until soft in boiling water, steamer, pressure cooker, or an oven. Remove pulp
from rind and mash. Place in a container, cool quickly in a cold-water bath, and stir occasionally. Pack into rigid containers leaving one-half inch headspace and freeze. Alternatively, you can use freezer-quality storage bags. Find complete information about containers and headspace at the National Center for Food Preservation.
Drying and roasting pumpkin seeds are two different processes. To dry, carefully wash pumpkin seeds to remove the clinging, fibrous pumpkin tissue. Pumpkin seeds can be dried in a dehydrator at 115-120°F for 1 to 2 hours, or in an oven on warm for 3 to 4 hours. Stir them frequently to avoid scorching. Use the dried pumpkin seeds, toss with oil and /or salt, and then roast in a preheated oven at 250°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pressure canning is the only method recommended for canning “cubed” pumpkin. Select top quality pumpkins with a hard rind and stringless, mature pulp. Small pumpkins (sugar or pie) make better products. Wash pumpkin and remove seeds. Cut into 1-inch slices and peel. Cut flesh into 1-inch cubes. Add to a saucepot of boiling water and boil for two minutes. Do not mash or puree the cubes. Spoon hot cubes into warm, prepared jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add enough cooking liquid to cover the cubes while still leaving 1-inch of empty headspace from top. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims with a clean, dampened paper towel, apply and adjust lids. Process in a recommended stovetop pressure canner according to USDA recommendations found in the University of Georgia’s So Easy to Preserve book or at nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/pumpkin_winter_squash.html. Process times are different for pint and quart jars, and the pressure setting
will depend on the type of pressure canner you use and your altitude.
Home-canned products to avoid
Some preserved pumpkin and winter squash products should not be made at home. There are no tested-safe home canning procedures for mashed or pureed pumpkins, mashed or pureed winter squash, or pumpkin butters we can recommend. If you make something up yourself and guess wrong, the result could be botulism (a rare, but serious, illness caused by foodborne bacteria).
Think safety when planning to preserve pumpkin. Pumpkin is a low acid vegetable and requires special attention when preserving for later use to avoid food safety issues. Even though pumpkin butters are popular, there is no properly-tested, safe home canning method for room temperature storage. By choosing good quality pumpkins and using safe preservation methods, you’ll have a tasty source of fiber and valuable nutrients long past the harvest season.