Oct 09
18
A trip to our pumpkin patch this afternoon brought very good feelings as we gazed upon the rows of vines and the small green pumpkins peeking out. The last time we looked, they were still kind of oblong and completely green. Now we are seeing a rounded shape appear as well as glimpses of orange. The kids circled the garden, admiring their future jack-o-lanterns, and most likely imagining how we will carve them in just a few weeks.
In the upper garden, there are some more pumpkins growing, but for an entirely different purpose. They are a different variety specifically grown for eating. While our jack-o-lantern pumpkins are indeed edible, they tend to be more watery and less flavorful. The small pumpkins in the main garden will be sweet and firm, perfect for pies and preserves.
I plan to try a new preserving method this year- Sweet Pumpkin Pickles. I found a recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving that explains how to pickle chunks of pumpkin as a form of preservation. While canning pumpkin normally requires pressure canning, the sweet pumpkin pickles can be processed in a hot water bath due to the additional acid provided by the pickling vinegar.
Here’s the recipe:
2 cinnamon sticks, halved
12 whole allspice
10 whole cloves
1 lemon
6 cups granulated sugar
4 cups white vinegar
24 cups cubed seeded peeled pie pumpkin
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids (use standard canning instructions for cleaning and preparing jars)
2. Tie cinnamon stick halves, allspice and cloves in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag. Set aside.
3. Zest lemon, using a fine-toothed grater, and set aside. Remove and discard white pith. Separate segments from membrane and coarsely chop. Squeeze any juice from membrane and add to segments. Set aside. Discard membrane.
4. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine lemon zest, pulp and juice, sugar, vinegar and reserved spice bag. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes. Add pumpkin, return to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, until heated through. Discard spice bag.
5. Pack hot pumpkin into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Ladle hot syrup into jar to cover pumpkin, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more hot syrup. Wipe rim. Center lid on Jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
6. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
TIP: Because they are so firm, pumpkins can be difficult to cut into pieces. To prepare pumpkin, cut into quarters or smaller pieces, scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Then use a sharp knife to cut the flesh from the rind. Then cube the pumpkin flesh to the right size for canning.
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I’ll have to try these! It’s nice to see something that’s not the ordinary!