HOW TO COOK A PUMPKIN:
You will need…a pumpkin, a sturdy pan, a fork, a sharp knife, cutting board, coffee filters, a colander (strainer) and a food mill or sieve.
Over the years, we have found out that the KABOCHA winter squash is an excellent choice to cook, even better than a pumpkin. Also, butternut squash works very well in pumpkin pie recipes.
To begin: thoroughly wash your pumpkin with soap and water using a scrubbing brush—get into all those nooks and crannies. Rinse with clear cold water. Dry with a towel.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove all racks in the oven leaving the bottom rack in place. The KABOCHA and the pan need lots of room.
Place the KABOCHA on a secure cutting surface—avoid slippery surfaces. Using a butcher knife (big sharp knife) cut your KABOCHA in half. (Cut the KABOCHA in half—north to south). It is ok if the stem breaks off or you can leave the stem intact.
Clean out the seeds (save these for roasting) and all the stringy, fibrous inner parts. Remember—save the seeds (great snack) and discard the rest. You will be baking both KABOCAH halves without the seeds and fibrous inner parts.
For your baking, select a large sturdy cookie sheet (great ones are available in Wal-Mart in the kitchen baking section). Do not grease the cookie sheet and do not add water to the cookie sheet. The only thing on the pan will be the KABOCHA.
Lay the KABOCHA halves cut side down on the cookie sheet. The halves can be side by side; it is ok if they are touching. Usually there’s room to cook 2 KABOCHAS at the same time.
Bake the pumpkin halves for approximately 45 minutes. The halves are done when a fork can easily slide in and out of the rind. Smaller KABOCHAS take a shorter amount of time; larger ones take longer.
Once baked, remove the KABOCHA halves from the oven. Be careful—the cookie sheet will probably have water on it now. This water has “cooked out” of the KABOCHA and can be saved to make a wonderful soup broth. The broth can be flavored to make wonderful stock. The broth stock can be frozen for later use.
Leave the KABOCHA halves on the cookie sheet and transfer the cookie sheet to the counter top to cool down. After an hour or so the KABOCHAS will be cool enough to handle with your hands. Using your hands, peel away and discard the rind of the KABOCHA. Transfer the KABOCHA pulp to a bowl.
For better results with your baking projects the pulp should be drained. Typically KABOCHAS are full
of water. If most of the water is not removed the success of your baked goods will be compromised. To
remove the water from the pulp drain the pulp in a coffee filter lined colander (3-4 hours).
Next, take the drained pulp and sieve it down to remove all lumps and to make it a nice smooth
product. To sieve—use a food mill. A food processor can also be used as well as the back of a fork
(mash pulp—using the back of a fork). Drain again in coffee filter lined colander 3-4 hours.
The pulp that remains in the colander is now a thick, rich product ready to use in your favorite
recipe. For accurate measuring and successful baking, measure the pulp in a dry measuring cup and
level with a spatula.
If you will not be using the strained pulp in 2-3 days it should be frozen for later use. Freeze the pulp
in seal tight containers or in freezer quality resealable zippered storage bag. Personally I like to
measure 2 cups of pulp into a freezer quality resealable zippered storage bag and freeze them flat in a
single layer. Once frozen, the frozen flat packages can be stacked making the best use of your freezer
space. Most recipes use 2 cups mashed KABOCHA pulp so freezing the pulp in 2 cup packages is a big
time saver plus there is less waste of time, energy and product.
Remember there are no preservatives or additives in this freshly processed farm fresh KABOCHA. This
is a fresh natural good for you food product rich with antioxidants. Without the preservatives it will
not hold in your refrigerator for an extended period of time—so—use it within 2-3 days or freeze it.
Even though the KABOCHA is a winter squash, we use it for everything, Soups, Pies, Brownies, Cakes, Breads, etc.
How to Cook a Pumpkin, or our Favorite, the Kabocha!