In my desire to have pumpkin available for pies, breads, etc., I priced canned pumpkin at the store.  For the price of buying 2 cans and getting 2 or more pies from them, I decided to buy a pumpkin.  Costing slightly more than a few cans of prepared canned pumpkin, the investment into a pumpkin was worth the cost.

About a week later, a friend of mine offered me a pumpkin she raised.

With the frost on the yard and the winter chill settling on the the landscape and in the farmhouse, now is the time to heat up the kitchen with a job like preparing the pumpkins.

First, I wash the pumpkins.  I cut them for baking and scrape away any strings and seeds.  I save the seeds for making a snack later.  Scrapings become food for the chickens.

 

 

 

I bake the pumpkin pieces for about 1.5 hours until the flesh is tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it is cool enough to handle, I peel off the outer skin.

 

 

 

 

I puree the pumpkin with water in the blender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The puree is heated in a kettle till hot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is spooned into canning jars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lids are placed on the jars.

 

 

 

Quart jars are cooked at 10 pounds pressure for 80 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When finished the hot jars are carefully removed from the pressure canner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wash the jars, remove the screw bands, and label the jars.

 

 

 

At about 2 pies per quart, you can see I got a very good deal.  The pumpkin should last for quite a while.  Thanks to our pressure canner we should enjoy pumpkin pie and other dessert for a few years.

photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau