Since I'm going to be going to a Halloween party anyways, I'm going to make pumpkin pie bites for comparison (I can't eat 48 of those things on my own...). The question is, do I use the pumpkin puree from the can or bake my own pumpkin?
OMGoodness, I'm going to probably eat all these before the party.
The store brand: Libby's Pumpkin
My recipe (for the pumpkin puree):
- Preheat oven to 450º.
- Cut pumpkin in half (harder than it sounds).
- Place cut side down in baking dish.
- Fill baking dish with ~1/2" of water.
- Bake 45 mins - 1 hr until pumpkin in soft.
- Scoop out filling and puree in food processor until smooth.
My pumpkin puree came out a little bit runny, so I drained it through a cheesecloth to thicken it to the consistency of canned puree.
So, how do they compare? Mine is a lot lighter (I think it was the variety of pumpkin I used). Even after straining the puree, it was thinner than the canned. Nutrition-wise they are exactly the same - the only ingredient in the canned pumpkin is, well, just that - pumpkin.
If you want the recipe for the pumpkin pie bites, you can get it here: http://www.bakerella.com/pumpkin-pie-bites/
And the price comparison?
| Size | Cost | Cost/oz | |
| Libby's Pumpkin | 15 oz | $ 1.95 | $ 0.13 |
| Homemade | 4 cups | $ 5.00 | $ 0.15 |
Hmm, so it actually costs more to roast your own pumpkin. The taste was a little different - the canned pumpkin was more of a typical pumpkin taste, while mine was a little more like squash. In the recipe, my roasted pumpkin tasted a little smoother, but the color of the canned was bright orange (great for my desserts!).
So in the end, we have a can of bright orange pumpkin puree from a can that is pure roasted pumpkin that costs less than my pumpkin.
Bake or Buy? BUY!
Should there be another persuasive post you can share next time, I’ll be surely waiting for it.
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I've read/heard somewhere that canned pumpkin is not the same as the pumpkins you buy to carve. The definition of pumpkin is fairly loose and the canned variety is a mixture of a few different 'pumpkins'. I haven't used the rind of a pumpkin before, but I have used the guts. I've got a recipe for pumpkin guts bread and it is amazing - you can find it on Pinterest! You just separate the seeds from the guts and puree the guts. We roast the seeds so all the effort doesn't go to waste. The guts puree is much more liquid than canned pumpkin and there's no way you could just sub one for the other - you'd have to modify the rest of the ingredients I'm sure.
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