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Pumpkin is a great vegetable to preserve whether you’re overwintering in a pantry, canning chunks or dehydrating chips or pumpkin leather. It’s so versatile in your food storage program! For space saving and ease of use, I really enjoy dehydrating a lot of my pumpkin harvest. Let me show you how to dehydrate pumpkin AND make a pie out it.
There are two basic methods for dehydrating pumpkin, or any hard-skin winter squash:
By the way, did you know that most canned pumpkin isn’t pumpkin at all? It’s true – read this article from Learning and Yearning on that topic and be the smarty-pants at the table on Thanksgiving. Read this article from Joybilee Farm to learn the merits of other winter squash for feeding your family.
To learn to grow your own winter squash, please visit this article from Small Footprint Family.
I like both methods and do one or the other based on time and how many kid-helpers I have in the kitchen that day. All of these steps are good to teach to children. The first place to include them is in the preparing of the winter squash – peeling, chopping, laying out on dehydrator sheets. They especially love scooping out pumpkin guts.
To dehydrate cooked pumpkin, or pumpkin puree, use the following instructions:
*Dehydrating times come from Shelle Wells book, Prepper’s Dehydrator Handbook. She’s really inspired me to do more dehydrating this year!
To store dehydrated pumpkin, place in an airtight container out of direct sunlight and heat. With fruits and veggies I usually recommend you store for about a year – after that, flavor and nutrient content can start to suffer. Dehydrated pumpkin can actually last for several years without loss of flavor. It does so well dehydrated!
To learn how to dehydrate pumpkin pieces, please see the video instructions below.
You can use dehydrated pumpkin powder to easily add vegetable to any soup, stew, or casserole. Here are several Savory Winter Squash recipes from Homespun Seasonal Living – see what you can do with your dehydrated pumpkin!
You can also add powdered pumpkin to sweet bread, pancake or homemade pasta recipe. One of my favorite ways to use powdered pumpkin is in these Sourdough Pumpkin Biscuits.
This re-hydrated pumpkin could be used in our Gourmet Pumpkin Marshmallow Recipe!
I would eat pumpkin custard without the crust but my family prefers it with crust in a traditional pie. Either way, this recipe is delicious! It’s heavy on the spice, so reduce that if you’re not a fan of cloves.
Yield:
8 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
1 hour
15 minutes
Cool Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
2 hours
25 minutes
Learn to dehydrate pumpkin to save space in your pantry. Re-hydrate and powder the dehydrated pumpkin to make any pumpkin recipe, including this delicious pumpkin pie. This is a real food recipe with no evaporated milk or refined sugars.
*If you don't have sour or cultured cream, make up the difference with more heavy cream.
**If you want to use maple syrup instead of granulated sugar, start at 1/2 cup. Add more a few tablespoons at a time until you reach desired sweetness.
For pie crust, I use the recipe in Alana Chernilla’s book, Homemade Pantry. It is, hands down, the best pie crust recipe I’ve ever tried. You only need flour, salt, butter, and vinegar.
However, I know lots of great bakers; Attainable Sustainable shares her grandmother’s yummy recipe for Pie Crust with Butter here.
Do you have a pie crust tip for our readers? Feel free to leave it in the comments below and I just might include it in the article!
It goes without saying that pumpkin goes hand in hand with this season and it’s glorious holidays. For more holiday inspiration on the homestead be sure to pick up your copy of our newest book, Homestead Holidays. With crafts, recipes, information, traditions from around the world and practical advice for making merry for every homestead family, there’s bound to be something you need this holiday season in Homestead Holidays!
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For more information organic pumpkin powder, please get in touch with us!