How to Bake a Pumpkin

So you love pumpkin everything, and you’re ready to celebrate pumpkin spice season with your favorite recipe. Then you’ve probably at least once, at some point, walked by that bin of adorable ornamental pumpkins and wondered - should I bake my own pumpkin instead of use canned? Will it be better? I mean it has to be better, right? Everything is better fresh-baked over factory canned, right? Well, that’s an interesting and more complicated question than you might think. Mostly because of our inherent misunderstanding of what a pumpkin even is. 

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING 

See, it might surprise you, but for the most part, a true pumpkin would actually make a terrible pie. Believe it or not, the best pumpkin desserts are made from squash. Yeah, butternut squash makes an amazing pumpkin pie, while the big adorable classic orange ones are really only good for carving jack o lanterns and decorating tables. An honorable position on a seasonal table for sure, but they have no place in the oven. 

But there really is no need to go too far into the convoluted science behind the difference between a pumpkin and a squash, because all you need to realize is, there really is no difference from a culinary standpoint. When it comes to baking, stop thinking of pumpkins as only the big, bright orange classics you carved as a kid, and start thinking of pale green and pastel peach squash varieties. Open your mind to all the possibilities, and you’ll find an amazing variety of baking pumpkin options at your fingertips, maybe even year-round. 

WHAT VARIETY SHOULD YOU PICK?

So before you even start the ambitious journey of using fresh baked over canned, you have to wrap your head around what varieties you should bake with, and what to avoid. Fortunately, there are several types you can find easily, that are plenty sweet and flavorful, you just have to know what to look for. 

First, learn what to avoid. And the first red flag is a big pumpkin. For the most part, the best baking pumpkins are on the small side. My mom always said, if you want a tasty fruit, pick the ugly one, and she was right. Big, giant, showy pumpkins look great on your front step, but are, for the most part terrible to cook with. They just weren’t developed for taste, they were developed for size and color, and all sorts of other factors. So, avoid anything over 10 pounds or so, as a general rule. 

Next, avoid anything with thin walls of flesh. You won’t be able to tell this until you cut into it, but if a pumpkin has thin, firm flesh, they are more than likely developed so they don’t require much water to grow, and to make the perfect jack o lantern, not the perfect pie. 

So, now you know what to avoid, it’s time to learn what to look for. First is the easiest, they have names like ‘pie pumpkin’, or ‘sugar pumpkin’, and you would be ok if you chose those, but surprisingly they actually aren’t the best. 

For a really great baking pumpkin, you’re better off looking for a variety that looks more like squash. Pale, peachy orange varieties like what I chose to bake with, New England Cheese, which is easy to find, usually cheap, and easy to identify. Or even white like the Ghost Pumpkin or Lumina. Both have great flavor and sweetness. 

Then, there’s the Cinderella Pumpkin, a trendy ornamental pumpkin that’s easy to spot with its unique shape and color, but trendy often means expensive, making them impractical to use. 

And don’t forget about Butternut Squash. I wasn’t kidding about it being one of the best baking ‘pumpkins’ out there. Plus, they are inexpensive and very easy to find, even year round. In fact, some canned pumpkin companies actually use them in their blend. 

WHAT KIND DO THE PROS USE?

Which may lead you to the question - what variety of pumpkin do canned pumpkin manufacturers use? The most popular brand, Libby uses Dickinson, a pale orange variety that you won’t usually be able to find in stores for one simple reason - it’s not cute. They are tall and skinny, so you can’t really set them upright for decorating, they just fall over, and they are a dull, flat color with little to offer aesthetically, which is your first clue that they’re probably tasty! 

If you come across a fresh Dickinson Pumpkin, snatch it up, but I have never had any luck. So, when it comes to hunting for a baking pumpkin, open your mind to non-traditional pumpkins that look more like squash, and choose a variety you can find easily, for a great price, and you’re sure to have success. 

LET’S GET THAT ‘PUMPKIN’ BAKING

So, you’ve chosen your variety, and you’re ready to bake, ready to put your theory to the test and see if the extra work of baking fresh pumpkin is worth it. So how do you do it? Very simply. 

If your not going to save the seeds, you can just literally stab your pumpkin a few times with a sharp knife, and pop it in the oven at 400° for about an hour, depending on the size. But, I think pumpkin seeds are one of the best things to come out of pumpkins, so I always save mine. If you would like to save yours as well just cut the top off your pumpkin like you would if you were carving, and scoop all the seeds out. Pop the top back on and bake it at 400° for about an hour or until the flesh is soft and very tender. It’s that simple. 

Cooking pumpkins for baking is more awkward than difficult, so the labor is in cleaning, not in any special technique. Be sure to let them cool before you scoop out all the tasty flesh, and just like that, you’re ready to try baking with fresh baked pumpkin. 

IS IT WORTH IT?

So is it worth the extra work? 

Well, the first question to answer would be ‘is it tastier?’ Yes, if you pick the right variety, fresh baked can have more pumpkiny flavor, and richer sweetness.  But, if you choose the wrong variety, it can lack sweetness entirely, and even be stringy and watery. So, yes, if you choose wisely, and no if you don’t. 

But, I think it really comes down to one factor more than anything - does hunting for a unique variety of pumpkin, scooping out and roasting pumpkin seeds, and tasting your first truly home made pumpkin pie sound fun to you? If it does, then of course it’s worth it! If all you see is a big mess to clean up, then no, it’s not worth it all. 

Canned pumpkin is consistent, reliable, inexpensive, and still very tasty, so if baking a pumpkin isn’t something you would do just for fun anyway, then stick to canned. At the end of the day, we’ll both be happily enjoying a slice of pumpkin spice something, and that’s all the really matters. 

So, what do you think? Would you make your own baked pumpkin? Or does it seem like way too much trouble? Have you before, or have you always wanted to? I would love your opinion on the canned versus fresh debate, so be sure to comment below. Now I’m off to sneak my third slice of pumpkin bread, so join me for some amazing vintage pumpkin recipes!