So, this is the second year now that my husband has found a huge Cinderella pumpkin and cooked it up to freeze for the year. Always one for a great deal, he spied a 37 pound pumpkin for $6.99 at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago, and loaded it into our cart. Yes, it did sit in our kitchen for a few weeks looking massive and slightly intimidating, but he knew what to do and we caught it on camera so that you can rush out and nab yourself one of these beauties before the pumpkin season is over! Use the pumpkin in pies, soups, or whatever else you can dream up. At $6.99 for 37 pounds you can't really go wrong. So, first, let's talk about the right way to cut it. A regular kitchen knife isn't the best option as this kind of pumpkin is so thick and tough to cut - you might end up getting hurt, and that wouldn't be worth it! So be safe, and grab an ax or a cleaver, and a mallet to pound it in with. Cinderella pumpkins are great cooking pumpkins, because they have a nice mild flavor and color, aren't very stringy, and are dense with flesh. Wash the cleaver or ax with soap and water, and also wash the pumpkin. Place the ax or cleaver on the pumpkin and pound it in with the mallet. It won't be a "samurai chop" but a steady, firm chop to get the tool well wedged into the pumpkin, pounded in, and then cut the rest of the way to the bottom. An ax or a cleaver work well because the blades are wide and tall. Cut the pumpkin into quarters, and then into smaller chunks. Scoop out the seeds and strings. (Our middle boy loved helping with this!) Cut out any bad spots (ours only had one small spot). Wash the outside of the cut, scooped-out chunks with water. Stack the large chunks into a roasting pan with a small amount of water to prevent the pumpkin from sticking to the pan. (Around 1/4 of a cup.) Put foil all around the pumpkin, tucking it into the inside of the pan between the pumpkin and the pan. This will allow most of the condensation to flow back into the pan, and will help protect the oven from large amounts of condensation while the pumpkin is steamed. Double up the foil and tuck it tightly around the edges, again to cut down on condensation in the oven. Poke a few holes in the top of the foil for venting. Put a layer of foil on the bottom of the oven to keep it clean from any drips. Load that big mound of pumpkin into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 and a half to 3 hours, depending on how much pumpkin you're cooking. Look for it to be tender when poked with a fork before you take it out. When it's done, scoop out the flesh, allow to cool, and fill jars up until about 1/2 inch from the top. Freeze if you have the space. Otherwise, you could can it and store elsewhere. Because the Cinderella pumpkin is so smooth, you don't need to food process for a smooth texture.
Our 37 pound pumpkin yielded 32 cups of pumpkin! I think it's safe to say that's a great deal for $6.99...
2 Comments
Robin
11/11/2015 08:49:55 am
I loved watching the guys working on that big thing! And then, using some of that rich, deep orange, thick pumpkin in the Pumpkin Chile was so perfect. Yum.
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AuthorHi! I'm Erin, from over at NoMoreCrohns.com. I know firsthand the healing power of food, and I love to share delicious recipes with you! While everything I make is free of gluten, grains, lactose, and refined sugar, none is short on flavor! It is flavor first for good health here. Enjoy. MyThrivingKitchen.com and NoMoreCrohns.com are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
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