by Lisa Schauer
Walk down the “American food” section of an overseas grocery store, and you’ll find canned pumpkin, alongside peanut butter, maple syrup, ketchup, mustard, relish, and processed foods like pastries and snack cakes.
Yet pumpkin stands out as a superfood among America’s favorites.
Loaded with protein and fiber, pumpkin is also high in antioxidants, warding off free radicals that damage our cells over time.
While technically a fruit, pumpkins are in the gourd family, related to squash, cucumbers and watermelons. Beta Carotene, a powerful antioxidant, provides an orange pop of color on your plate.
Packed with 15 different vitamins and minerals, pumpkin is a rich source of iron, potassium, Vitamin C, B vitamins, and Vitamin E for skin health.
If you’re thinking of tackling a pumpkin recipe with your own homemade pumpkin puree rather than the canned variety, choosing the right pumpkin is key. For the best pumpkin pie, look for small sugar pumpkins, also known as pie pumpkins, six to eight inches wide, and weighing around two pounds.
You may need two small pumpkins to make a pie. Ask your local farmer what the best pumpkin is available for your needs.
Canned pumpkin is a time-saver, and just as nutritious as fresh pumpkin. Check the label, and choose a pure pumpkin product, such as Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin, winner of Taste of Home test kitchen.
Eating pumpkin boosts your immunity, fights off germs, improves eyesight, and helps maintain reproductive health.
While some may decry this ubiquitous fall flavor that seems to come too early, and stay too long, like a kooky cousin during the holidays, we Americans generally love our pumpkin.
The first pumpkin pie was made by early European settlers in America. They scooped out the pumpkin, filled it with honey, milk, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves, then stuck it in a fire and covered it in ash to cook.
Irish immigrants were first to carve pumpkins here into Jack-O-Lanterns, part of an ancient Celtic tradition that started with lighting the skulls of dead ancestors, believing the practice would bring their loved ones back for one night. The Irish carved turnips first in their homeland, but took to pumpkins on these shores.
Native Americans first grew pumpkins along riverbanks, part of their “three sisters” strategy of planting maize, squash and beans together for sustainability.
The first cultivated pumpkin seeds are believed to have been found in Mexico and Central America, dating back to around 5,000 B.C.
For all its rich history, savory flavor, and nutritional properties, pumpkin is perhaps best loved for the memories it evokes.
Pumpkin patches, hayrides, pumpkin pies, pumpkin lattes and pumpkin Blizzards still make up the fall fabric of our American lives.
No matter the weather, the annual arrival of the decorative pumpkin, and pumpkin flavors on menus, signals the official start of fall, along with college football and autumn leaves.
So, take this time to be grateful for a delicious pumpkin season. Prepare your family’s holiday favorite, or try a new twist on pumpkin this year. Your mind, body and soul will thank you for it.
Pumpkin will boost the nutrition of your dish; help thicken it and make it more filling and hearty. Here are some healthy, tasty ways to work pumpkin into your diet:
Pumpkin parfait: Layer pumpkin puree over plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, drizzle some maple syrup, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Top with granola or raw pecan pieces and enjoy.
Healthy baked goods: If you’re making pancakes, quick bread, brownies, cookies, or muffins, use pumpkin to replace some of the butter or oil in the recipe.
Smoothies: Mix pumpkin into a smoothie with yogurt, fruit, and honey.
Pasta sauces: Stir pumpkin puree into your spaghetti sauce before warming it. Experiment with varying amounts, starting with one cup of puree for a 24-ounce jar of sauce. Taste before serving — you may want to add Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
Soups and stews: Use pumpkin puree to thicken your soups and stews. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.
Source: WebMD
Pumpkin puree
Skip the canned pumpkin and make homemade pumpkin puree instead. It’s easy, smells wonderful, and works well in pumpkin recipes.
Look for baking pumpkins, often labeled “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins.”
Ask a local farmer at the farmer’s market or stand for the best pumpkin to suit your needs.
Ingredients:
1 small baking pumpkin, 4 to 6 pounds
Fine sea salt, optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rinse and pat dry the pumpkin. Cut one side of the pumpkin from the stem down to the bottom of the pumpkin, but don’t try to cut through the stem (it’s too hard). Remove the knife, rotate the pumpkin to the opposite side, then do the same. When there is a slit down both halves of the pumpkin, put down the knife and pull the halves apart. They should separate at the stem.
Scoop out the seeds and most of the stringy bits. Lightly season the inside of the pumpkin halves with salt, then place cut side down onto the baking sheet.
Bake until the pumpkin is easily pierced with a knife in several places, and the flesh pulls away from the skin, 45 to 60 minutes.
Cool until you can safely handle the halves, then scoop the soft flesh into a food processor. Depending on your pumpkin size, you may need to do this in two batches.
Process until very smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.
Source: Joanne Gallagher, Inspired Taste
Pumpkin Spiced Latte
Make the popular coffee house pumpkin spice latte at home. Canned or homemade pumpkin puree works well in this recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup strong hot coffee or 2 shots espresso
2 cups milk of choice, dairy or non-dairy
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree, or more to taste
1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup, or more to taste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for serving
Whipped cream, optional for serving
Directions:
Add milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly heat the milk until hot, but do not boil.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and the coffee or espresso. Taste and adjust with more sugar or spices.
Divide the mixture between two mugs.
Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Source: Joanne Gallagher, Inspired Taste
Pumpkin cheesecake
Move over, pumpkin pie. Pumpkin cheesecake might just be America’s new favorite fall dessert.
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (about two cups)
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 to 16 pecan halves, chopped
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan, chill.
For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Stir in the pumpkin, spices and salt.
Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, for topping, combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over filling; return to the oven for 5 minutes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
Refrigerate overnight. Remove ring from pan. Top with chopped pecans. Refrigerate leftovers.
Source: Val Goodrich,
Taste of Home
Pumpkin soup
This five-ingredient, one-pot, blender-free pumpkin soup is an easy way to start off a tasty fall dinner. Serve it simply with a hunk of rustic bread to sop up every last bite.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 29-oz. can pure pumpkin (about 3 ½ cups)
2 14.5-oz. cans chicken broth (4 cups)
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, 3 minutes or until soft.
Stir in the pure pumpkin, chicken broth, cream, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes or until soup simmers.
Ladle into bowls and top as desired. Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Source: Erin Phraner,
Good Housekeeping
Pumpkin bread
Filled with classic pumpkin spice flavor, this sweet quick bread is perfect for breakfast, snacks, or anytime you crave the taste of fall.
Ingredients
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the first eight ingredients. Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, oil and water; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in walnuts and, if desired, raisins.
Pour into a greased 9×5-in. loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65-70 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Source: Joyce Jackson,
Taste of Home
