The Pumpkin Harvest – Processing

Last night the pumpkin preservation began.  (We harvested the squash and pumpkins a few weeks ago.)  The Gardener cut up and deseeded the pumpkins while I put the pieces in the oven for roasting.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Instructions:  Cut side down, 350 degrees, 30 minutes or so.

The soft pulp can be scraped out of the skin and packaged for freezing.  I plan to do a little post-processing with my pumpkin pulp.  This will involve straining off excess liquid, whirling in the food processor, and a bit more baking to cook it down.  The goal is to achieve something like a pumpkin pie filling consistency.

As a bonus, we now also have a quart of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Instructions:  Clean the seeds, coat them with olive oil, roast them on a baking sheet for 30-40 minutes at 250 degrees, sprinkle with salt.

I don’t know how long these will keep.  We generally eat them up too fast to worry about shelf life.