Preserving Pumpkin

[lcertuche]

I guess that idea comes from the same people that say chickens can't eat tomatoes, lol.

Seriously I wonder how much seeds would be comparable to extract. This is one crop that is easily grown and stores well. In the 'olden days' farmers grew a lot of garden type crops to feed their livestock in the winter.

The big companies are moving away from antibiotics, by using more natural ingredients like oregano. I wonder if it is in extract form or just leaves fed in their feed.

 

[Beekissed]

I just let them eat all the pumpkin seeds they want and figure whatever the dose, any is better than no pumpkin seeds at all. I don't think God made any mistakes on that, with pumpkins and gourds being a fall type crop that stores well and can provide good nutrition in the winter for livestock...as well as help control their parasites when it's most needed.

Here's a recipe someone posted on FB that I've yet to try but really want to....

http://www.runningwithspoons.com/20...&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

 

[lcertuche]

That bread sounds yummy Beekissed. I make muffins from a box of chocolate cake mix and 1 1/2 cups (or a can) of pumpkin puree. It is so moist and yummy. Could probably be made from any kind or flavor of mix. It doesn't taste like pumpkin at all though.

I just picked up 6 good size pumpkins at the store marked down to a $1 per pumpkin. I already have on in my big electric roaster. I hope to have it ready to cut up and put in the dehydrator tonight and put another in the roaster before bedtime. DH already has dreams of pie and more pies in his future, lol.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh I so need to make that! Yum!

 

[tortoise]

Curious as to why you guys are "preserving" pumpkins? We picked ours and put them in the basement. They keep pretty well, even in our "hot" basement from wood furnace.

I think canning pumpkin was 90 minutes processing time with pressure canner? and in chunks, not puree so have to do bigger jars with longer processing time. It didn't seem worth the resources to process. I might process if our basement pumpkins aren't keeping well, although I'm more likely to throw them to the chickens. We ended up with SO much pumpkin and squash this year, we'll be sharing with the livestock!

 

[lcertuche]

I've tried keeping them before but they get brown spots and spoil within the month. I think if you grew them at home and handled them gently they would last but not from the store. It doesn't help my kids think they are toys to be rolled across the floor, lol. I would rather hold them over but have very little luck doing it. I want to try growing some next year and see if it works out better.

 

[lcertuche]

Well I just went to get my last pumpkin out of the garage and it was almost rotting. I was not happy but that is why I preserve them somehow. They just don't hold up after being tossed around at the store or truck, or wherever. I wasted a $1 but it could have been more. They were originally priced at $5 a pumpkin.

 

[tortoise]

Well I just went to get my last pumpkin out of the garage and it was almost rotting. I was not happy but that is why I preserve them somehow. They just don't hold up after being tossed around at the store or truck, or wherever. I wasted a $1 but it could have been more. They were originally priced at $5 a pumpkin.

How frustrating! I did pull a rotty butternut squash out of the basement last week, so my storage isn't perfect.

Are you able to grow your own pumpkins next year to choose a variety which might keep better and not have them get tossed around and damaged?

 

[lcertuche]

I'm hoping to try and grow some if I can keep the deer and rabbits out of them. I know they would probably last for a couple months if I grew them myself. I did grow some yellow summer squash this year and it grew very well. That and peppers did best and a few eggplant. Everything else was very poor and some of it like my tomato plants got ate. I'm hoping to fence off the garden and let the chickens run in there this winter. Let them fertilize, weed and aerate the soil.

 

[lcertuche]

I thought I would do an update on my dehydrated pumpkin. I've actually used it in a couple of things lately. One is muffins which my family loves anything muffins and the other was sort of a crustless pumpkin pie which is really quick to throw together.

I do re-hydrate the pumpkin first. It is easy enough to do. I just put it in a 2-cup measuring cup and fill it to the 1-cup mark. Pour boiling water up to the 2-cup mark and let it sit for 20 or 30 minutes. You could probably just put tap water over and sit in the refrigerator overnight. It turns out great! You can't tell it was like leather minutes before and a half gallon jar is far easier to store than a few pumpkins.