Poll: Pumpkin Pie--canned or the real thing?

[emilycat]

I'm feeling kind of curious, and I was just wondering -- do you all prefer pumpkin pies that have been made with regular old Libby's canned pumpkin, or really homemade pie, made with pumpking from your own cooked and scooped gourd?
I made the latter for the first time last autumn, and I found the difference to be amazing -- I have to say that I preferred the fresh variation. It was just incomparable. Yummy.

[AndreaU]

I've only ever had the canned pumpkin variety of pumpkin pie, though I would love to try it with fresh pumpkin. Emilycat, do you have the recipe? I'm curious to know the differences (if any) in the recipes. Thanks!

[mbarra]

I've also only made it with canned pumpkin! Emilycat, I would also love the recipe. My favorite one from CL is a maple-pumpkin pie recipe in last year's Nov issue (I think)... If it can be made even better with real pumpkin... WOW!

[emilycat]

Here's the recipe...it's from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.

No-Fault Pumpkin Pie

Filling:
3 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin or squash
3 T. white sugar
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. molasses
1/2 t. cloves or allspice
1 1/2 to 2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 t. powdered ginger
1/2 t. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk (lowfat ok)

1 unbaked 9-inc pie crust

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2) Place pumpkin or squash puree in a medium sized bowl, and add all other filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.
3) Spread into the pie crust and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 40 minutes, or until the pie is form in the center when shaken lightly.
4) Cool at least to room temperature before serving. This pie tastes very good chilled, with rum or vanilla spiked whipped cream, or some high-quality vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy and let me know how you like it! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[MrsReber]

I've done both. I prefer to use fresh pumpkin, although the texture is a wee bit different. I used canned pumpkin to save time, though. This year I have a bunch of pumkins to cook. My husband was in awe of me when I made a pumpkin pie out of a pumpkin. I asked him where he thought the stuff in the can came from! He was afraid to try it at first, but he really did like it and now brags to other people how I make pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin.

[lindrusso]

I've only made or eaten the kind from the can. My Dad made an attempt at them completely from scratch, but I seem to recall that they came out quite runny and weren't exactly a success.

It's one of those things where I'd like to try the fresh some day but on the other hand if it ain't broke..... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif .

[BeckyM]

I had a bad experience once with the fresh type, so I now stick with the canned.

My bad experience was trying to make a pumpkin pie from Bon Appetit at my parents' house for Christmas. The pie was supposed to have a beautiful crust edged with leaf shapes cut out of extra crust. It was extremely time-consuming, but it was so beautiful before I put it in the oven! The bad thing was my mother suggested I use some of the pumpkin she had in the freezer. I thawed it completely, but it was much runnier than the canned pumpkin. It took FOREVER for the pie to be done, and in the process, the beautiful crust was burned! I even covered the edge with foil, but after so long in the oven, even the foil didn't help. I was so upset!

I've never tried the thing with the crust leaves again, because it didn't really seem worth the effort, and I now always use canned pumpkin. I also always use a different Bon Appetit recipe (Grandma Cottington's Pumpkin Pie from a Thanksgiving issue several years ago), which is full of fat but has given me great results!

[MrsReber]

I think some people don't cook the pumpkin correctly and that's why it's runny. I used to have that problem. I will only bake them now- for about 90 minutes at 350 then the skin comes right off and I can mash up the rest with my potato masher. I don't like to freeze it, I just use it right away or keep it in the fridge.

[LGBurns]

I have tried both as well and didn't really notice a huge difference using the fresh pumpkin. I decided it wasn't worth the extra effort. In my experience the runniness factor is due to two issues:
1) you need to use "pie pumpkin" or "sugar pumpkin" rather than the regular jack-o-lantern pumpkins. The former are higher in sugar and lower in water content.
2) you need to bake the pumpkin without any water in the pan. This creates a nice carmelizing effect and further reduces the amount of water in the pumpkin.
I usually use the pumpkin pie recipe from Fannie Farmer and have gotten very good reviews from all who've tried it (because it uses a lot of spices). Also I use the pie crust recipe from a recent issue of Cook's Illustrated that is out of this world good although not low-fat by any stretch of the imagination (it was for an apple streusel pie, I think).


[This message has been edited by LGBurns (edited 10-30-2000).]

[jjf]

I was watching the Food Network the other day and Bobby Flay commented on this exact thing. He said that he has found that it is better to use canned pumpkin because you get a consistent product. He said that fresh pumpkin is too risky so he always uses canned. The guest chef agreed. Just thought I would pass their opinion along.

jen

[Beth]

I have cooked fresh pumpkin a couple of times, and it had great flavor, but I thought even the little sugar pie pumpkins tended to gice a wetter puree. I usually use the canned, but will cook fresh so my boys will see "where the stuff in a can comes from."

Speaking of Food Network, Sarah Moulton had a show on last week that had pumpkins. If I understodd her correctly, she said those little, bitty mini-pumpkins (usually 2-3 for a dollar) used for decorations and sold with gourds are actually excellent for eating. SHe said they are so sweet they often don't require any sugar to sweeten them. I was amazed! I never thought of them as food!

[Shirley Panek]

I am definitely a "fresh" girl! I use sugar pie pumpkins (or baking pumpkins). I wash the pumpkins and cut them up, then put them in the pressure cooker with about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of water. It only takes about 15 minutes at pressure, and the rind picks off cleanly and easily.

I can definitely taste a difference between canned and fresh pumpkin. For those who haven't had fresh pumpkin, I highly recommend you try it. You won't believe the difference.

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif
Shirley