Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/26/canned-pumpkin-isnt-pump.html
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Wait a minute… but this still has dick in it, right?
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This is the specific cultivar of pumpkin that Libby’s uses in their canned pumpkin. It’s the Dickinson pumpkin. Like all pumpkins, it’s a squash, and while it doesn’t look like an orange jack o’lantern, it’s most definitely a pumpkin.
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It would never occur to me to buy pumpkin in a can. Why would you? I didn’t even know it was a thing.
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To make pumpkin pie or other pumpkin pastries. It’s a kitchen staple every fall for my family.
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Why not use pumpkin? Is the stuff in the can super-concentrated and you’d need tonnes of fresh pumpkins (like with tomato paste, for example)?
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Cheaper, easier, faster, more consistent results 
Maybe.
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Canned pumpkin IS pumpkin – 100% actual, real pumpkin, ready to use in pies. Scooping the flesh from pumpkin and pureeing it for a pie is a gigantic hassle and very inconsistent when you can just use ready made Libby’s or another brand, like your grandmother did. And as others said, the pumpkins you see in the store make crappy pies (unless you can find sugar pumpkins).
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Maybe the family recipe calls for canned pumpkin? Sometimes it’s about making grandma’s pie more than ‘a’ pie.
I know there are a few ghod-awful canned goods recipes in my family’s cookbook.
exactly. She grew up in the war. A remarkable number of her recipes contain margarine.
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I’m pretty sure those huge orange things they sell at the grocery store are fer carvin’ not fer eatin.’
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I guess it’s a north american thing. I’ll defer to the pumpkin pie cooking experts.
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So more gingham vs. plaid than gingham vs. stripes thing…
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Blend it with coffee for one of those Fancy Drinks.
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Pumpkin Spice coffee drinks do not contain any actual pumpkin (or squash). They have the spices used to flavour pumpkin pies.
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fall officially starts when Trader Joe’s has endcaps of Pumpkin Pie and Spiced Apple Cider.
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The pumpkin spice cookie butter is a bridge too far.
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Oh, most definitely. Whether you get it out of a can or laboriously carved out and pureed from a field pumpkin, it’s really bland stuff anyway until mixed with “pie spice” (cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger/cloves) and sugar to give it flavor, so it really doesn’t improve a pie to get it out of a pumpkin. You can make a perfectly good pie out of butternut squash, too.
Actual ‘eating’ pumpkin is best used roasted and used as a savory addition to things. I had fantastic salads, sandwiches, and pizza with roasted pumpkin on it in Australia. It’s only in North America that it’s considered a sweet/desert item.
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Because no one throws up using canned pumpkin, vs the slimy mess that is real pumpkin.
Also, IIRC, the varieties sold to cut up and use for decoration don’t have the same taste as varieties used for cooking.
Sort of like Red Delicious apples. They look great, taste like shit.
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