What the Heck is a Sugar Pumpkin?

I have a small confession to make.

Sometimes I act like a tree-hugging, nature-loving, granola-munching hippie.

[wait…. you guys aren’t surprised? that’s weird.]

Organic, grass-fed and clean-eating are all words that I associate with in my everyday life. If I were to ever own a restaurant, it would no doubt possess all [or at least most!] of these characteristics. I look down my nose at Hummer owners [ignoring the fact that I own an SUV] and have even been known to dig through the trash to pick out recyclables — but only at home, I promise! (…I got scolded for doing it at work)

What I’m really getting at is the fact that I occasionally get this insufferable urge to dance around in the kitchen all day and all night and make absolutely everything from scratch — using local and seasonal ingredients, of course. Though, I guess maybe hippie isn’t the right word… maybe I just can’t decide whether I want to be a pastry chef or a professional ballerina when I grow up. So, why not everything all at once?

This brings me to the subject of pumpkins. Sugar pumpkins, to be exact. Because yes, there are different varieties of pumpkins. Like, a crapload. Pumpkins in all different shapes and sizes and colors [could I maybe use the word ‘pumpkin’ one more time in this paragraph? don’t tempt me]. I’m not going to get all educational on you, but feel free to check out this list if you’re so inclined to see [or buy!] more.

As I’m sure you know, Jack-O-Lanterns are those used most often for carving and decorating. Their flesh is relatively stringy and watery, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to try and use it for cooking or baking. Sugar pumpkins, on the other hand, are smaller and sweeter than their Halloween counterpart — squash-like, actually. They can range anywhere from two to eight pounds in size, and may also go by the name of pie, or cooking pumpkins. And fun fact: you can use just about every part of these sweet orange gourds! From roasting the seeds to pureeing the insides to using the hard, outer shell as a vessel to hold delicious soups and stews — can you say, versatile?!

Now, I know what you’re thinking: why on earth would you go through the trouble of buying and roasting a sugar pumpkin when you can just buy a can of Libby’s and move on with your life?! Well, friends, that’s easy to answer. Because you’re weird like me and get an abnormal sense of enjoyment from taking a piece of fruit and using up every.last.bit.of.it. [you do, right?!]

[and yes, pumpkins are fruits]

So for those of you who can relate to my pumpkin-related weirdness, let’s move on, shall we? Roasting sugar pumpkins 101, here we go.

Step 1: Buy a pumpkin. Sounds easy enough, right? You can find them at your local grocery store, in the same section as your winter squash. Trader Joe’s usually sells them for $1.99/each — which obviously means you need to find the largest one they have; more bang for your buck! Or, if you’re lucky enough to live near a farmer’s market [or an actual farm], there may be a few pumpkins leftover for you to snatch up… because I’m pretty sure roughly 98% of society was over pumpkin about three weeks ago.

Step 2: Go home and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 3: Slice that baby up! Sometimes I find it easier to chop a small portion of the top and bottom off, for two reasons: first, you don’t need your pumpkin rolling around while you try and slice it down the center; that’s how we hurt ourselves! Slicing off a piece at the bottom provides a solid base for the pumpkin to remain sturdy. Second, it’s incredibly difficult to cut through the stem; again, that’s how we hurt ourselves. Learn from my mistakes, please and thank you! By removing the top/stem, it’s that much easier to create a clean slice.

Step 4: Remove the seeds, but be sure not to throw them away! You can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll be using them later.

Step 5: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you so desire, brush the inside of each pumpkin half with a little olive oil; place both sides face down on the parchment. If you choose not to use any olive oil, that’s fine too — I’ve done it both ways and yielded delicious results each time!

Step 6: Roast ’em! Depending on your oven, it could take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. You’ll know they are done when the skin has turned a deep orange and is wrinkly and tender to the touch. Although, here’s another instance where you can learn from my mistakes — use a fork to test the pumpkin’s ‘done-ness’, not your fingers… it’s hard to continue with this process if you’ve managed to burn your fingerprints off.

Step 7: Do. Not. Touch. Those babies are HOT! Let the pumpkin cool for 10 – 15 minutes before handling, at which point you can scoop out the flesh; puree or mash it and viola!

There you have it, friends: freshly roasted pumpkin puree! Ready for use in at least a trillion delicious ways. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice lattes — you name it, you can pumpkin-ify it.

Yea, I said it.

Stay tuned for next week’s edition of True Life: I’m Obsessed With All Things Pumpkin, where we find out what to do with those leftover seeds!