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kelgalon

pumpkin butter recipe...not for canning

kelgalon
13 years ago

Hello All,

Put away quite a bit of pumpkin and squash puree in the freezer and am hoping to make some pumpkin butter for Thanksgiving. I know its unsafe to can, but I'm hoping someone has a good recipe I could make the day of or the day before?

Thanks!

Comments (9)

  • readinglady
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is a recipe I have posted here before but it's quicker to re-post than to look it up. Because it's an old recipe, canning instructions are included. I added a note to refrigerate or freeze instead. Pumpkin butters, like pumpkin puree, will freeze very well.

    Spiced Pecan & Pumpkin Butter

    Pumpkin is one of the few things put up in cans that can be commended to even the fussiest cook. The butter is delectable on toast or any hot bread, or on pancakes, waffles, of French toast in place of syrup. It's also delicious over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

    If you have a fresh "pie" or sugar pumpkin-not a jack o' lantern variety, which will be both watery and stringy after cooking-prepare it by paring, cubing, and steaming until very tender (this can be done in a covered casserole in the oven), then pushing the flesh through a sieve or the fine disk of a food mill. If the pureed pumpkin is too moist-which it is if liquid quickly seeps from a sample spooned onto a plate-line a colander with cheesecloth and drain the puree for a hour or so. To make enough puree for this recipe, start with a good-sized pumpkin, say 5 pounds.

    Hard-fleshed winter squash (Hubbard, etc.) can be used instead of pumpkin; prepare it in the same way.

    Zest (outer peel only, no white pith) of 1 orange, or zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon, removed in wide strips with a swivel peeler

    1 large can (29 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin plus 1/2 cup water, or 3-1/2 to 4 cups pumpkin puree prepared from scratch (see the headnote)

    2 cups (packed) light brown sugar or 1-1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar plus 1/2 cup mild honey or light corn syrup

    3 tablespoons strained fresh orange juice

    3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

    1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

    1/2 teaspoons salt

    1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

    1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

    Pinch of ground cloves

    1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, lightly toasted and grated or very finely chopped

    Makes about 5 cups

    1. Simmer the orange zest in 2 cups water in a sauce pan for 10 minutes, then drain it and mince it to a fine pulp. Measure out 1 tablespoon and reserve.

    2. Combine in a heavy-bottomed stainless-steel or other nonreactive saucepan the pumpkin (and water, if canned pumpkin is used), orange zest, sugar, orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, allspice ginger, and cloves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; lower the heat and simmer the mixture, stirring it very often with a wooden spatula, until it has become very thick, about 15 minutes. Sample the butter and add a little more of any or all of the spices, if you like (remember, the flavors will blossom in storage). Add more sweetening if your tastebuds request it.

    3. Stir in the nuts and continue to cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Ladle the boiling-hot pumpkin butter into clean, hot half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Seal the jars with new 2-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's instructions. Process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Cool, label, and store for up to a year a cool cupboard.

    [Note: Instead of canning refrigerate or freeze for long-term storage.]

    From: The Good Stuff Cookbook by Helen Witty

    Carol

  • kelgalon
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fantastic! Thank you so much!

    Just one question, about how many cups of puree do you think you would start with from a 5 lb pumpkin? 2 cups?

  • readinglady
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you planning to make a half-recipe? Then 2 cups would be correct.

    If you're planning to make a whole recipe, you can take the amount of puree you have and if it's short, supplement with commercial.

    If you're asking how much puree you'll yield from one pumpkin, that depends on the variety and growing conditions, including water content.

    Carol

  • 2ajsmama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks like the author figured you'd get 3.5 - 4C out of a 5lb pumpkin (says enough for this recipe). Of course, as Carol said, YMMV.

    I've got about this much puree from a *large* (as sugar pumpkins go - I didn't weigh it though) pumpkin I baked this w/e, I might make half a batch of pumpkin butter with it and use the rest for pie. I still have more pumpkins, if the fresh pumpkin pie turns out well. Otherwise, it's back to Libby's (now that it's on sale - I can get 29oz for just 10% more than 15oz was selling for last week!).

  • 2ajsmama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What are you reserving the 1 Tbsp of orange zest for? Do you use all the orange zest *except* for 1 Tbsp in step 2, or just use the 1 Tbsp (and save the rest for something else)?

  • readinglady
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    She's holding back 1 T. of zested peel to add when spices are corrected IF you decide at that point that you want a more pronounced citrus flavor. Any zest added then will be more noticeable because it won't have been long-cooked with the pumpkin as the remainder has been.

    This is one of those recipes that really relies upon the cook to determine spice level.

    Carol

  • 2ajsmama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ah, I couldn't really tell how much zest was going in step 2.

    I ended up just putting in my usual pumpkin pie spices (we like it spicy, and this isn't going to sit for a year since it's not canned). So at this point I could just add the zest and juice (maybe some water) and make pumpkin butter, or just add eggs and condensed milk and make pies. I cooked and peeled the pumpkin on Sunday, so I *had* to do something with it today (didn't freeze).

    FWIW, I estimate the pumpkin I used was over 7 lbs, and after putting almost 6C (large Gladware bowl) through the Foley today, I got just a hair over 4C, and that was not drained, I left all the juice in the pot..

  • kelgalon
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm sorry I had missed the step where it said 3.5 to 4 cups of puree from scratch. I was asking about how many cups of puree you would get from a 5 lb pumpkin b/c I already cooked mine and just filled up the containers for the freezer not paying attention to how much came from each pumpkin. Good thing I can read today!

  • 2ajsmama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Without the 6 Tbsp of juice, the zest, or the nuts, 4C of pumpkin puree (not drained) and roughly 1 1/2C of sugar (I usually use 2/3C hard-packed brown sugar for 2C of pumpkin when making a deep-dish pie, put a little more in the pot) made just 5C of "butter" (one WM pint and one Classico jar). I used the pint and a cup out of the Classico jar with 12oz of condensed milk and 2 eggs to make 1 pie (in the oven now) and 4 small ramekins (for dessert tonight). I'll freeze the rest, thaw it on Sunday or Monday to make pies on Wed (will make 3 pies, using 29 oz can of Libby's for 2 of them if I don't get a chance to cook my other sugar pumpkins).