Fall is not fall without a trip to the pumpkin patch! I was so pleased to find a pumpkin patch in our area where we could pick our very own pumpkin — a pumpkin to carve for Halloween, a pumpkin or two or three to turn into pumpkin puree to bake into delicious muffins, cakes, cookies and pies with.
We picked an assortment of pumpkins, including such varieties as the sugar pie pumpkins, jack-o-lantern pumpkins and cinderella pumpkins. The farm we went to had about 50 varieties of squashes like pumpkins. The pumpkins off the vine were up to be picked from the patch and those still attached to the vines were a no-go — there was plenty to pick from! And lucky for us, the pumpkin patch welcomed furry pets as long as they were on leash.
We learned all about curing pumpkins so pumpkins will keep for months to come and can be enjoyed all winter long.
Let’s go to the pumpkin patch!
The cinderella pumpkin is such a neat looking pumpkin! It’s a bit more flat and squashed looking – much like Cinderella’s carriage. It can average 10 to 40 pounds. These pumpkins can come in orangey-pink, and white. It is a great pumpkin for decorating with or for sweet or savory cooking.
The sugar pie pumpkins are smaller and are a great size for baking with. They are often between 2 to 4 pounds. The tend to be firmer, less stringy, less pulpy and much sweeter.
The sugar pie pumpkin really is a perfectly small pumpkin — and great for kids! I loved looking at the fields of pumpkins – the pictures just do not do it justice. It was simply beautiful.
Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins are more suitable for carving because of how large they are, plus they have a great surface area for carving all those fancy images as well as being more hollow. They also have a high water content, low sugar, and sturdy handles that make them the perfect carving pumpkin. Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins often grow between 5 to 15 pounds, although they can grow bigger. These pumpkins can be cooked, roasted, pureed, and baked as well. The larger they are though, the more stringy they can become.
My daughters picked the perfect pumpkin to carve!
We picked an assortment of sizes of pumpkins as well as ripeness. Since most are so green, we need to cure them — a step I never knew about before! The pumpkin patch owners were a wealth of information!
I never knew about the right way of storing pumpkins! Often, they hardly lasted a few weeks and always had to be thrown away, or tossed to some farm animals. Believe it or not, curing pumpkins and the way they are stored matter for how long they will last! I was always curious how the pioneers could make these squash last most of the winter months! Pumpkins can last between 3 to 12 months if cured and stored correctly! How awesome is that!?!
TO CURE:
Leave in the sun, about 1-2 weeks at 15C to 25C. The sunshine will help develop the color. No frost. No freezing. No storing on concrete. No snow.
TO STORE:
Cured pumpkins needs to be stored in a cool, about 7C to 15C, dry place, off the ground with air flow under the pumpkins.
To bake and puree the pumpkin is simple! You can use the puree in pumpkin pie like in my mom’s recipe found here: Mom’s Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie and other baked goods like these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies that I had since I was a kid. The pumpkin puree can also be poured into freezer-safe containers and placed in the freezer for 6 months up to a year. Pumpkin puree is so versatile!
Needing help on how to prepare pumpkin to puree? Check out my post here on Preparing Pumpkin Puree.
Not only did the local pumpkin patch we visited have pick-your-own pumpkins from the field, but they also had pumpkins that were already picked (the white ones were absolutely beautiful!) along with decorative gourds and edible ones too! The farm also had giant hay bales that looked like a bear and all sorts of photo moments plus a field of gorgeous sunflowers (my favorite!).
UPDATE:
When we cured our pumpkins, we hauled them out in our wagon into the hot sunshine and in the early evening, before the sun went down, we put them back in our warm garage. We did this throughout September, until all the pumpkins were orange, and we turned them as they turned color to be sure the whole pumpkin had a chance to turn color. We then continued to store our pumpkin in our wagon and because the wagon as a canvas-like material, the air can still flow around.
UPDATE:
The pumpkins have lasted thus far – to Halloween! We are so pleased with how the curing has actually worked! Here are a few pics of the Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins all carved for Halloween!
UPDATE:
It’s January and the pumpkins are still doing fabulous! No rot. No disgusting spots. The pumpkins have been sitting in the wagon since September – that’s 4 months so far and the pumpkins are still doing wonderful! I cooked up a few to puree to make goodies with. So yummy! I am going to see how long I can make them last! Such a great experiment.
