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!”
All fresh pumpkins are not created equal. I used fresh for the first time a couple years ago… bought one special variety pie pumpkin at the farmer’s market and then worried it wouldn’t make enough so got another at the Safeway (a sugar pumpkin for pies). When I roasted them both, the difference was astounding… The special pumpkin was sweet and so good, I had to stop myself from eating it. Next to that pumpkin, the store “sugar pumpkin” for pies was basically flavorless . Turns out the special one made enough to fill the whole pie, so I went with that. My friend who doesn’t much like pumpkin pie said it was the best pumpkin pie she’d ever had. I’m getting another of the “special” pumpkins this year for a recipe that calls for canned, and I’m going to reduce the sugar.
I have discovered this as well. I had a sugar pumpkin last week that was DELICIOUS with nothing added to it. Quite a contrast from the first sugar pumpkin I tried, which was flavorless and bland. I guess you have to try to find a quality one.
I definitely prefer fresh! It can be a bit of a pain to roast the pumpkin, wait for it to cool, puree it, then strain it, but it’s tooooootally worth the effort. The taste and the texture of pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin is absolutely amazing. I’m so sad I only had the chance to make a pie with the fresh stuff once this year, but I will definitely be freezing a lot of fresh pumpkin puree next pumpkin season!
Growing up, my mom always used fresh pumpkin. Whenever we had other people’s pumpkin pie I always thought it tasted funny (because they used canned). One year when I was in my late teens my mom started using canned as a short cut and the pies were just never the same. Now that I’m an adult (and the one in charge of our family’s Thankgiving dinners) I always use fresh!!! So glad there are other people who notice the difference!
I agree Kara, once you have fresh you can’t go back to canned!
Thanks for conducting this test and posting for all to see. I’ve read elsewhere that making fresh pumpkin is not worth it, but I agree most canned products taste a bit tinny. I was worried that the texture might be too wet, but you say the texture is better, so I’m going for it. Thanks!
I had never even heard of a pie pumpkin before this post. I’ve roasted and puréed three now, soon to be four! Your pie recipe is the bomb, though I’ve been too chicken to attempt a homemade crust. I’ve made pie, pumpkin chili, pumpkin banana bread, pumpkin pancakes, and soon to make pumpkin cookies! And I’m definitely making the pie again soon! Thanks for turning me onto the wondrous joy of fresh pumpkin!! It’s really so easy, I’m addicted!
Hi Libby, I’m glad you’re having lots of fun cooking with pumpkin!!!
I would love to do the whole testing thing, but I have never even seen canned pumpkin puree because I live in Europe, so I always have to make my own. I usually freeze it, because I can only buy or harvest pumpkins in the fall
Joanne, this is a fantastic post! I’ve used both, but not side by side, but I thought the texture of the fresh was so much nicer too. I am intrigued now…I want to do my own taste test now!
Hi Caroline, awesome! You should, it’s a fun little experiment!
Many years ago I would always use fresh pumpkins for pies. Years of raising a family and running them to and fro, I started to just open a can of pumpkin. But, now that you mentioned it, I do remember a lighter color and a much smoother texture. I am going to the farmer’s market tomorrow and I now have sugar pumpkin at the top of my list. Thanks for sharing this and reminding me of how fresh is better than canned.
Hi Debi, I have to admit that I’m a little worried that when I start having kids I won’t be able to keep cooking like I do now! I can’t imagine how busy life gets, and how much more important kitchen shortcuts are (like using canned). So I understand that sometimes that’s just easier, because even though preparing fresh pumpkin isn’t difficult, it’s definitely time consuming. Hope you enjoy your fresh pumpkin as a treat!
I cook and bake way more now that I have kids than before, though my youngest is now 2. I could see it being more difficult with a newborn!!
What a cool comparison. I definitely want to try fresh pumpkin this year. Thanks!
Hi, great test!! My mom always pressure cooked pumpkin and put it in the freezer so we could have fresh pumpkin pie all year long! Her recipe is also very custard-creamy like so I could never eat anyone else’s pumpkin pie, especially those made with canned pumpkin! Thanks!
Hello, I have always used fresh pumpkin and even though the prep work is more time consuming, I prefer it over canned. I cannot stand store bought or for that matter bakery pumpkin pie, the taste just isn’t there. I also use fresh pumpkin when making pumpkin bread, a favorite by all.
Hi Barbara, it is great to hear your opinion. I guess it’s one more example of fresh being better! I can’t stand canned pumpkin anymore after having fresh! There is a weird taste to the canned stuff.
I grew up as a farm girl and so naturally I had fresh pumpkin pies! They have always been the tastiest.
Well, I’ve grown up and moved to the city and thought to make my own from canned pumpkin one year. I like to taste the ingredients, so I had a spoonful of stuff from the can and needless to say, I puckered up and that ended up going straight into the trash can. It doesn’t even smell good. I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for an hour. It definitely is worth the extra work if you want a delicious pie.
In regards to the recipe, my mom never pureed the pumpkins. She just mashed them up lightly with an old manual potato masher or wisk. The texture is even better (at least, in my opinion).
Big tip: You can freeze the pumpkin! Do a big batch one day and it’ll save you time and convenience. Since we had a lot of pumpkin on the farm, what didn’t sell to the locals or get eaten fresh was cooked up and frozen in ziplock bags with enough to make 1 or 2 pies per bag. Not as good as fresh, but still WAY better than canned.
Cool to hear your story, Malina. Thanks for sharing. I did not have any luck freezing the pumpkin, but maybe it’s okay when it’s actually baked with the other ingredients.
I’m sorry you didn’t have any luck freezing the pumpkin but wonder how you did it. I can only get kabocha (sp?) squash and pie pumpkins a couple of weeks in the year so I bake, puree and freeze in mason jars (leaving about 3 inches for expansion). I’ve used them a year later with no problems. In fact, I made a pie last week out of my last jar. Delicious. Did you freeze in plastic? Just curious.
I guess I’m just cooking dumb, but there was no mention on the temp of the oven to roast the pumpkin or an approx time it takes for it to be tender.
Huh? It’s the very first line of the recipe. “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.”
Sorry. I didn’t read that because I assumed it was just the recipe for the pie only.
No worries at all, I was just very confused =)
My friend sent me here, glad to meet you! We did the same test before I found you and got the same results.
I also did a taste test on which breed of fresh pumpkin is better: Sugar Pumpkin or the Cinderella Pumpkin?
http://www.whats-going-on-here.com/2012/11/01/fresh-pumpkin-pie-taste-test/
Try using Japanese kabocha squash, it’s naturally sweeter, so you don’t need to add much sugar. The texture is creamier too.
That’s a great idea, Vanessa. I’ve been thinking about trying Buttercup Squash too, since that’s a bit sweeter as well.
Yesterday, I tried something NEW. A friend gave me this tip- Bake the sugar pumpkin WHOLE! It was so much easier, too.
No water needed in the roasting pan with no need to drain excess water from the finished puree, either.
Peeling was a synch and cleaning the stringy, seedy was easier, too, because it was soft.
I got the idea from a friend, so I didn’t actually follow any written directions, but this is what I did:
Stabbed the pumpkins with about 6 times with a knife.
Roasted at 350 degrees for 90 minutes (started checking at an hour, though).
Allowed to cool about 30-60 minutes.
Peeled. Mostly with my fingers, but also used a knife, in places.
Cut in half and scooped out stringiness & seeds.
Pureed in food processor.
My 3 sugar pumpkins made 7 cups of pumpkin puree.
For those who want to see pictures with directions, try this website: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/how-to-cook-a-whole-pumpkin-to-make-pumpkin-puree
Thanks for sharing this Mary. I will definitely try it!!!
I’ve been doing that for years, but I’m so lazy I only stab them twice. I cook them at about 400 for an hour or until I like the way they feel when I stab them. It also works for kobucha and other small squash. Then I either roast the seeds or put them in my smoothies for added protein.
BTW you should try this with one of those small dark green stripey pumpkin shaped squash, they’re denser and sweeter.
Great post!