The canned pumpkin shortage does not impact me: I always make my Thanksgiving pies from fresh pumpkins. There is no comparison in flavor; fresh pumpkin is the preferred ingredient for pies in our house.
The first necessity is to buy pie pumpkins not a carving pumpkin. Not all pumpkins are created equal! Carving pumpkins are thicker and when baked, the result is watery and stringy. A pie pumpkin is smaller, not more than 8-10 inches tall, with thin skins. If the pumpkins aren't labeled, ask.
Our farmer's markets sell pie pumpkins and when I purchased four last week, the sales clerk commented on the shortage of canned pumpkin and said her daughter was bringing canned pumpkin from Missouri when she comes for Thanksgiving. I couldn't help myself: you sell pie pumpkins all day and you are having canned pumpkin brought to you?
Wash the pumpkins, place on a cookie sheet and put into a 350 degree oven. Bake about 50 minutes until a knife pierces easily through the flesh.
Because pumpkin cannot be safely canned at home, I put 2 cups of pumpkin puree in quart size freezer bags and put in the freezer. We are traveling to Annapolis for Thanksgiving, so we'll put the freezer bags in the cooler--along with the turkey that will be brining as we drive.
If you want a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, you'd better find some pie pumpkins in the next few weeks before they disappear from the shelves, too!
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