Please Don't Puree Your Own Pumpkin; You'll Break This Recipe Developer's Heart

"As a recipe developer, I feel like I'm not supposed to say something isn't worth making. But honesty is the best policy. (DIY puff pastry? Forget about it. Homemade phyllo? Never in a million years.) Some products really are better when the fine-tuned industrial food system works its magic. As we enter the fall season, I want to shed light on a seasonal product that, without a doubt, is not worth the effort: homemade pumpkin pure9e."

"Homemade pumpkin pure9e is not the same as the canned stuff. Homemade versions almost always skew watery, more like soup than a thick, smooth mash. Whether you steam, microwave, or roast a pumpkin, it almost always turns out liquified once pure9ed. (Sure, you can strain the mixture to thicken it up, but who has time for that?) And the kicker: The taste differences are negligible. You can add a little more flavor to your winter squash chunks by seasoning them before cooking; but that opens up another can of worms. Like baking with salted butter, it's nearly impossible to recalibrate the seasoning when it comes to a pie or cake recipe."

"In contrast, Libby's (the ubiquitous brand of canned goods most well-known for pumpkin) makes its pure9e with a proprietary variety of pumpkin specially calibrated to make the best possible version. The pumpkins are actually more akin to butternut squash than a pumpkin you could pick up at the grocery store or farmers' market-silkier, more buttery. You can't replicate that level of fine-tuning at home!"

Homemade pumpkin purée typically yields a watery, soup-like consistency that often requires time-consuming straining to thicken. Flavor differences between homemade and canned purée are minimal, and pre-seasoning winter squash can complicate recipe balance. Commercial canned purée is made from proprietary squash varieties bred for silky, buttery texture that home pumpkins rarely match. Recipe developers create baked-goods formulas around the consistent moisture and texture of canned purée, so unknown variables in homemade purée—moisture content, sweetness, chunkiness, and squash type—can cause recipes to fail.

Read at Bon Appetit