As a recipe developer I feel like I’m not supposed to say something isn’t worth making. But honesty is the best policy. (DIY puff pastry? Forget about it. Homemade phyllo? Never in a million years.) Some products really are better when the fine-tuned industrial food system works its magic. As we enter the fall season, I want to shed light on a seasonal product that, without a doubt, is not worth the effort: homemade pumpkin purée.
Homemade pumpkin purée is not the same as the canned stuff. Homemade versions almost always skew watery, more like soup than a thick, smooth mash. Whether you steam, microwave, or roast a pumpkin, it almost always turns out liquified once puréed. (Sure, you can strain the mixture to thicken it up, but who has time for that?) And the kicker: The taste differences are negligible. You can add a little more flavor to your winter squash chunks by seasoning them before cooking; but that opens up another can of worms. Like baking with salted butter, it’s nearly impossible to recalibrate the seasoning when it comes to a pie or cake recipe.
In contrast, Libby’s (the ubiquitous brand of canned goods most well-known for pumpkin) makes its purée with a proprietary variety of pumpkin specially calibrated to make the best possible version. The pumpkins are actually more akin to butternut squash than a pumpkin you could pick up at the grocery store or farmers’ market—silkier, more buttery. You can’t replicate that level of fine-tuning at home!
The real reason I feel so passionately about using canned pumpkin purée is this: recipe writers develop their recipes using the canned stuff. For one of those recipes, especially a baked good, to work properly, consistency is crucial. We have no idea how much moisture is in your homemade pumpkin purée, how sweet it is, how chunky or smooth it is, or even which type of squash you used. (Was it one intended for eating, or a leftover Halloween pumpkin?)
Case in point: Canned pumpkin is consistent. Recipe developers know what to expect and can write replicable recipes with it. The fewer variables, the more likely those recipes will work in your home. So if you swap in homemade pumpkin purée all willy-nilly and your pumpkin flan turns out watery don’t come crying to me. I warned you!
Now that I’ve convinced you to stock up on the cans (save your dreams of DIY’ing for pie crust), might I suggest a few of our most recent recipes using canned pumpkin purée?
