Fresh vs. Canned Pumpkin: I put them to the test!
People say fresh pumpkin is so much better than canned, so in today’s post I put them head to head and did a pumpkin pie blind taste test to draw my conclusions!
Is fresh pumpkin worth the effort, or should you just used canned pumpkin?
A few nights ago I laid in bed, eyes wide open, pondering that very question (because thinking about food before bed is way more fun than counting sheep).
For the longest time I had never bothered to use anything other than canned pumpkin. Mostly because so many recipes just say to use canned pumpkin by default. It seems like the common thing to do.
I mean seriously, which do we all WANT to be better? The canned pumpkin, obviously. All you have to do is open a can. It’s so quick and simple. Fresh pumpkin requires extra work.
But hey now, it’s not that much extra work, and I decided that it was time to see if the extra work is worth it. This extra work is basically just to cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, roast, and puree. Not difficult at all. So I set out to compare the two, to figure out whether fresh or canned pumpkin is the way to go.
In order to test, I first had to prep the pumpkin (make sure you buy a designated sugar or pie pumpkin). I scooped the seeds out with a melon baller (much like I did with my Maple Butter Roasted Acorn Squash). Save the seeds if you want to make roasted pumpkin seeds.
Place the pumpkin halves on a sheet pan to roast until tender.
Scoop the roasted pumpkin from the skin, and puree in a food processor until smooth, like this:
Once I had the pumpkin puree cooked like this, my husband and I both did a blind taste test.
Here were my notes:
- WOW pumpkin is not sweet at all. We think of it as sweet because it’s often used in desserts, but this stuff needs some sugar!
- Both of these pumpkin purees taste far too yucky to tell which one is better, at this point. No more tasting until I add some sugar.
- For now I will observe with my eyes, and I noted that the colors are very different.
So what I did is I made the exact same recipe for pumpkin pie, except I used the fresh pumpkin puree for one, and the canned pumpkin puree for the other.
This was the canned pumpkin mix:
And this was the fresh:
I stirred it all together, and here you can see the canned pumpkin mixture on the left, and the fresh on the right.
They vary quite a bit in color, don’t they?
Here’s where my husband and I did another blind taste test, tasting the raw pumpkin pie filling (sweetened up this time).
Blind Taste Test #2 Notes:
- This stuff tastes so much better with all the ingredients mixed in!
- It is now painfully obvious which one is the canned and which one is the fresh, even though my eyes are closed and I don’t know which is which. There is a weird flavor with the canned pumpkin that now that I notice it, is pretty off-putting.
Here’s what they looked like after being baked. The colors aren’t as different anymore. If someone brought me the pie on the left, even though it’s not as bright of an orange, I would still know it’s pumpkin pie.
Finished product blind taste test #3:
- What’s most funny about this experiment is that going into it, I thought there would be a clear answer based only on taste. What I found is that the biggest difference is the texture.
- The canned pumpkin has a sort of cottage cheese/ricotta texture, whereas the fresh pumpkin has a more sweet potato-like, thicker, more velvety texture.
- I personally think the fresh pumpkin pie texture is better. My husband agrees.
- The canned pumpkin pie taste is seriously driving me crazy now. I’m not sure I can eat canned pumpkin again, because that canned pumpkin flavor is just so strong and unappetizing to me.
So tell me, have you compared canned and fresh pumpkin, side by side? Maybe it’s time to see what you prefer! Have fun and let me know which you like better =)
My Favorite Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 small pie pumpkin to yield 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 pie crust
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the pumpkin in half, scrape out the seeds with a melon baller, then bake on a sheet pan for about 1 hour until fork tender. Scoop out all the pumpkin from the skin, and puree in a food processor until smooth. Measure out two cups of pumpkin puree, and set aside for later. (By the way, if you wish to have a thicker, denser pumpkin pie, let the pumpkin puree strain in a colander lined with cheesecloth or a damp, thick paper towel for an hour or so, to remove some of the water from the pumpkin puree).
- Bump the oven heat up to 400, and place your pie crust in a standard 9-inch pie plate. Blind bake the pie crust for 20 minutes, and be sure to either prick the dough all over with a fork, or fill the pie crust with a piece of parchment weighted down with pie weights, to keep the crust from bubbling up as it bakes.
- While the crust parbakes, make the pumpkin pie filling. Place 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, eggs, and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Remove the par baked crust from the oven, and turn the heat back down to 350. Place the pumpkin pie filling into the par baked pie crust and place it in the oven (yes, you are starting the pie out at an elevated oven temperature, that’s intentional), and bake the pie for 45-50 minutes (you know it’s done when you jiggle the pan, the center part of the pie jiggles, but doesn’t look liquidy). Let the pumpkin pie cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before eating (this part is important). This will help set the texture of the pie and let the flavors develop a bit. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
146 Comments on “Fresh vs. Canned Pumpkin: I put them to the test!”
Blue Hubbard and banana pumpkins give way more product and are better tasting than pie pumpkins. Cinderella pumpkins have become more popular, but the banana pumpkin is sweeter and has a better texture than the Cinderella. I like to roast and mix the pumpkins for a puree. Freeze it in 2 cup increments in Ziplocs for baking all winter. Make sure to roast the seeds and save some to plant next year. I often just roast pumpkin and eat it with whatever spice I am in the mood for. You can dress it up or down, make it sweet or savory, a great veg for sure.
Thanks for sharing this! I can never get enough pumpkin during the winter
I’m not sure who did the blind tasting and hope this message is read by them. I want to share that my father was the VP of Kuner’s canning company in Denver, CO in the 60’s. He would take us to Kuner’s and show us the operations. When they canned pumpkin, whole pumpkins were dumped into vats, boiled and then went through machines seeds, stems and all, strained and then mashed. I believe the orange color was caused by the skins still being a part of the mix. I have cooked down my own pumpkins since I married in 1975. Love the article!
I only roasted the sugar pumpkin to compare that taste to the canned. I wanted to eat it with salt and pepper like other roasted vegetables. I could not BELIEVE the difference! If you eat it roasted it tastes VERY different that the canned. In fact, I would never know it was pumpkin. However, after the shock wore off, I developed a real taste for it and enjoyed it with my dinner as a roasted vegetable. Sugar pumpkins are PACKED with nutrients, so I felt very good after eating. I agree the texture is very different (more like a sweet potato).
fresh pumpkin doesnt get the love it deserves! So glad you gave it a try!
I’ve found that it’s safer and easier, and turns out just as well, to put the entire pumpkin in the oven without cutting it. (I find it scary to try to cut open the raw pumpkin.
To see if it’s done, poke it with a fork. Allow it to cool a little, slice it open and scoop the seeds out. The skins basically peels off. Much easier!!
Can’t wait to try this method. Unfortunately sugar pumpkins are no longer available in our stores.
Most def!!!! Many years ago I decided to try Pumpkin Pie using fresh instead of canned. No need to do a side by side test. It was so obviously superior that I ca never go back. One Tim e I was making two pies and I was short of pumpkin puree. I had a sweet potato so I roasted/mashed it and added it in and whoa! even better. Now that’s my go to recipe. I am lazy, so I just throw the whole pumpkin in the oven then peel and scoop out the seeds after. so much easier. Always a bit sad when the pie is gone. ; )
I love this! I always use Long Island Cheese Pumpkins to cook down for the puree. I actually find that they have more meat on the inside and are less stringy than any other pumpkin I have ever used. They are larger than Sugar/ Pie Pumpkins, but I always freeze the extra for later use. Less work for more pumpkin puree!
I am so glad you did this test. I always use fresh pumpkins but I do not remove the skin. This gives it a brighter orange color and better flavor (in my opinion) and also might have a bit more nutrition. Nutritionists always used to say that most of the vitamins are just beneath the skin. Make sure you wash the pumpkins well before roasting and buy organic if you can.
I used to make the regular eggs and dairy recipe but now I just use the pumpkin puree mixed with canned coconut milk, sugar or maple syrup, spices and arrowroot powder or corn starch for thickening since there are no eggs. So simple and Delicious!
Glad you tested this and found fresher is better. I have been making pumpkin breads, pies, and desserts with fresh for almost 25 years. I use Hubbard squash most of time if can find them
I prefer the fresh (plus my kitchen smells so wonderful while I am baking it) I bake it flesh side down and scoop it out when it’s done (90 min @350) I don’t purée it because it is amazing as it is!
After reading your blind taste test of fresh vs canned pumpkin that both are yucky with out help. I am inclined to agree that sugar pumpkin is not that sweet but Japanese pumpkin (small bright orange) is very sweet without sugar. So is winter melon. In my humble opinion fresh is better but you also need to choose the right variety.
I have been making pumpkin pies from fresh pumpkin for over 20 years. I use “jack-o-lantern” pumpkins (that you buy at farms, supermarkets, etc.); I don’t like the flavor of sugar [or other varieties of] pumpkins. I don’t roast, I cook the flesh in a pressure cooker (takes 8 minutes once up to pressure) and then puree using a hand blender. I then drain the puree in a colander lined with cheese cloth to drain all the water out; it gets nice and firm.
(the pulp CANNOT be frozen at this point, it gets too watery to bake with when defrosted, as the cells of the pumpkin lose structure and give off all of their water) I also grind all my own spices. There is no comparison to the garbage you get in cans. I’ll put my pies up against anyone’s.
I started making fresh pumpkin purée four years ago and haven’t looked back. My pumpkin pie has become legendary since starting to use fresh pumpkin, and my friends and family countdown to pumpkin season every year.
I Australia we have many varieties of wonderful pumpkin. We do not have canned. Most of ours have a thinner skin. We eat it mashed, roasted, in soup or in sweets. All are interchangeable. There’s n need for canned.
My favorite pumpkin variety for pies is Candy Roaster, it’s delicious!
I stopped using canned pumpkin. I get a fresh pie pumpkin, cut it in half, take out the seeds and put it in a steamer basket for about 25 min. I then take out the pulp and put it in a food processor and puree the filling. so fast and simple. After I bake the pie, I put honey on top, spread with a spoon and top with coconut. My mother did this and it makes the pie really delicious. Everyone likes this pie. What I would like to know is do you use the same amount of puree as the canned pumpkin? I have but wondered if this is Ok.