Stringy Pumpkins

[AL]

I am in need of a "Cooking with Real Pumpkins for Dummies" book.
When I cut a pumpkin, how in the world do I clean out all of that stringy mess? No matter how I pull and scrape, there seems to be gobs of it left over?

 

[freemotion]

Some pumpkins are stringy almost all the way to the skin, it seems. Just get the spongy stuff near the seeds with a spoon and cook up the rest. Puree it and it will be just fine.

The pumpkins sold for decorating...the big field pumpkins...tend to be stringier than the more flavorful sugar pumpkins. I save the whiter fleshed field pumpkins for adding to soups and stews and such, and the sugar pumpkins for baked goods or if I want more flavor to come through.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I use a big spoon to scrape the insides out. We also stopped growing the halloween pumpkins and focus more on growing eating pumpkins.

I think my favorite pumpkin recipe is curried pumpkin soup

 

[Farmfresh]

When choosing a pumpkin for eating it should feel heavy for the size and smell nice. Some of the carving pumpkins actually stink.

I am REALLY lazy when it comes to preparing my pumpkins. I either poke them all over with a knife and microwave them for about 10 to 15 min until they look squishy or bake them whole in a medium oven for the same result. After they are cooked I let them cool a bit then I cut in half. First I scoop out the seeds and "guts" and then I use a spoon to scoop the meat away from the rind.

Of course you CAN cut them in half before cooking which is most important if you are going to try to save the seeds to plant or roast.

I then like to use a blender to mix up my punkin in a recipe. Nothing gets it so finely chopped. No strings here!

 

[AL]

ah thanks! So once I do my best to get the stringy stuff out, just putting it in the blender will finish it off?

I have no idea what I am going to do with it... but would I put the "meat" part in the blender too?

 

[Farmfresh]

Not quite. The stringy part or "punkin guts" is where the seeds are. The meat of the punkin is the part most people eat. It is the solid bit next to the peel or rind. I put the meat part in the blender after it is cooked because sometimes that part can be stringy too.

Edited to say ... my weird husband sometimes eats the seeds and guts with a bit of butter and salt, but the man ain't quite right sometimes.

 

[AL]

thanks.... told ya I needed one of those "for Dummies" books LOL

My mom said she had heard of people eating the guts... no thanks!

 

[Farmfresh]

My chickens LOVE those punkin guts. I say why deprive the chickens.

 

[murphysranch]

I cooked a butternut squash the other nite. Saved the seeds and strings for the chickens. THEY WOULDN'T EAT IT! They cocked their heads and didn't even try it. Darn Chickens.

....the dogs ate it later.....

 

[lorihadams]

Okay, here is what we do.....cook the pumpkin down in the oven. When you get the pumpkin done, use an electric hand mixer to puree the pumpkin....all the strings will wrap themselves around the beaters and you will be left with perfect puree!