An Easy Recipe

If you are like a lot of us, you end up with some extra pumpkin after Thanksgiving or Halloween, and you are not sure exactly what to do with it. After all, there are only so many pies you can make! Fortunately, there are lots of other options, and some important information that could help you make wonderful pumpkin dishes, every time.

Most people just make desserts out of their pumpkin, but you are not limited to these options. Here is a look at a few of the things you might want to know about this great vegetable before you begin to cook. They will help you get much better results, after all.

The first thing you should know is that Halloween jack-o-lantern types of pumpkins are not a great choice for fall recipe use. Unfortunately, these large, sturdy specimens are bred for their looks, toughness, and regular appearance, not for their edibility. They tend to be fibrous and low on taste.

These kinds of pumpkins can be very tempting to people look for a great deal on pie ingredients, particularly right after Halloween. However, they are not a great choice for eating, though they compost well and can be fun to feed to the squirrels and other wildlife. The flesh is tough and fibrous, and not very strongly flavored.

That does not mean you cannot eat them at all, but it is a good idea to "hide" this type of pumpkin in other foods. Cook your surplus pumpkin down by baking or boiling it, scrape the pulp out of the shell, and blitz it in a food processor once or twice. Then put it in pumpkin bread, cookies, or even chili.

For foods where you want that pumpkin taste to shine through, like pumpkin pie or an easy pumpkin soup recipe, look for smaller sugar pumpkins. Chock full of potassium, vitamin A and fiber, these pumpkins have a lot more flavor, are much sweeter, and have smoother, more pleasant flesh. They are often used for desserts, but work for any meal where you want the flavor of pumpkin to be a major player.

Pumpkins can be used in pumpkin soup in chunks, or pureed for a smooth, silky texture. Some recipes even cook the soup right in the pumpkin, and stir the flesh off the walls to make a creamy, interesting texture. It all depends on your preferences. Just make sure you process the pumpkin carefully, according to the recipe directions, to prevent problems with water content or incompletely cooked pumpkins.

Pumpkin is a wonderful choice for soup and lots more. Pay attention to the kind of pumpkin you have and make sure you cook it right to improve your chances of ending up with the perfect fall meal. Check out all your options for an excellent pumpkin soup this fall, and do not forget to pay attention when you go shopping.