Uses for Pumpkin Juice? Also, Pumpkin Butter...

13 years ago

After the holidays, I came across a lady who had several cooking pumpkins leftover from her holiday Farm Stand. When I told her that I liked to can and preserve, she gave me several cooking pumpkins. Not sure of exact varieties, heirlooms of some kind - I didn't ask as I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. ;-)

I cooked the first pumpkin yesterday, and ended up with a fair amount of pumpkin flesh, but also a lot of liquid - approximately 3 quarts, to be specific. I was kind of toying with the idea of some kind of Pumpkin Jelly, and was wondering if anyone had ever made anything like that? Some poking around on google yielded tons of Pumpkin Jelly Roll recipes, but nothing incredibly useful.

I still have another four pumpkins to make use of as well, so without trying to start a controversy, since I know there are some hardcore food safety people on here, I'm wondering about canning Pumpkin Butter. I understand that it's not recommended by USDA, so please no lectures, I'm just wondering of those people out there that do can Pumpkin Butter, what kind of guidelines do you follow?

Del

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Comments (7)

readinglady
13 years ago
Since it's not recommended by the USDA, there are no guidelines. That's an oxymoron.

If you wish, you can look up a variety of canned pumpkin butter recipes from the 80's and earlier, prior to testing. Normally those old recipes boiling water bath, though some are open kettle "canned." There are lots online.

Carol
delairen
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi Carol -

Anyone who does can Pumpkin Butter would probably have their own recipe/method, which was what I meant by guidelines. The USDA also recommends cooking all meat until it's leather (well-done), but you don't hear of all that many steak-house related deaths.

Del
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denninmi
13 years ago
If it were me, I would cook the pumpkin "juice" down a lot, and then use it as a vegetable broth to make a soup base. It may need to be watched carefully as it reduces, because there are carbohydrates in there that could burn on the bottom of the pan.
denninmi
13 years ago
PS -- when you see the term "Pumpkin Jelly Roll" -- I believe it is a PUMPKIN flavored spice cake, with usually a cream cheese type filling, rolled up as in the JELLY ROLL style. Not, I believe, a ROLL cake filled with PUMPKIN JELLY. :-)

OK, Mister Know-It-All here is Over and Out!
readinglady
13 years ago
You can always take a Ouija Board and come up with a time. It would be as scientific.

The steak issue is apples and oranges to canning because with canning you're sealing things in a jar under a vacuum. The risks are entirely different. It's not logical to assume from one USDA recommendation that others are invalid.

Honestly, I think you've come to the wrong place. There are lots of other canning forums where respondents are less cautious that might be better suited to your inquiry.

Carol
delairen
Original Author
13 years ago
Carol -

My point with the steak was simply that the USDA guidelines are supposed to be idiot proof. Since I am not an idiot, your ouija comment notwithstanding, I find myself looking at the USDA guidelines with a healthy degree of skepticism. That isn't to say I'm going to throw them out the window, simply that I'm open to alternatives. Canning with wire bail and Weck style jars is not recommended by the USDA, either - but people in Europe do it all the time - and don't die. If no one ever questions the guidelines how on earth do they ever get revised?

Del
digdirt2
13 years ago
A Carol said, there are recipes out on the web for pumpkin butter. Lots of them unfortunately.

Knowledgeable canners with even a basic understanding of acidity and density issues in safe home canning won't touch it unless they are in the mood to play Russian roulette. So pumpkin butter is one of the foods that falls in the "grandma always canned it and no one died" (that I know of) camp of canning.

Besides, it freezes so well that there honestly isn't any justification for taking the risk. But it is your risk to take if you wish.

Dave