Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Does anyone make BPA-free pumpkin puree? Are there any other chemicals I should be worried about present in pumpkin puree? I've never seen it frozen.

flag	asked Dec 13 2011 at 16:55 balor123 5,955●2●14●58

The Loon · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-13 17:05:45Z UTC

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Make your own. Pumpkins and squash are practically free at the stores this time of year. If you missed it this year, you can try to get the specialty pumpkins right after the holidays, like the valenciana and cinderella. They are good-looking, but also really tasty. Don't they still sell blocks of frozen pureed squash in the freezer section? The canned stuff is also overcooked.

answered Dec 13 2011 at 17:05

The Loon
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Yes, making your own is easy and totally BPA-free. – jess6 Dec 13 2011 at 17:24

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Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) is considered a pumpkin (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin) and is more easily found at the store than the typically-considered pie pumpkins. I use butternut squash to make pumpkin pie all the time. For any pumpkin, I just slice it in half and bake at 350 F for about an hour. Better than canned! – Sara S. Dec 13 2011 at 17:37

Oh, I forgot to add: I remove the seeds before baking. – Sara S. Dec 13 2011 at 17:38

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? / A: Dunno, he should've taken the expressway. – tonysolo Dec 13 2011 at 17:41

Butternut is one of my favorites! I use most kinds interchangeably. – The Loon Dec 14 2011 at 16:48

Firestorm · Answer 2 · 2011-12-13 17:36:13Z UTC

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You might try your local farmer's market -- I found pie pumpkins at ours for a very reasonable price (.39/lb). I split it in half, turned it cut side down in a baking dish, and baked it in the oven for an hour at 350 degrees, and got plenty of pumpkin for pumpkin custard.

answered Dec 13 2011 at 17:36

Firestorm
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yes, this is one of the hottest trends in the farmer's market scene. People are going nuts over specialty pumpkins and it has been difficult to buy seed of the most popular styles. – The Loon Dec 14 2011 at 16:49

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I save my seeds, especially for heirloom varieties that we really love, so we can plant them the next season. The Farmer's Market is a bit of an 'experimental landscape" for me in that way -- I use it to try new things, to help me decide how my limited garden space would be put to its best use. – Firestorm Dec 14 2011 at 16:52

tonysolo · Answer 3 · 2011-12-13 17:39:23Z UTC

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Check your Whole Foods, if you've got one. I noticed organic pumpkin puree in those Tetrapak containers (think juice boxes). I assumed they were going after the BPA-scared market.

answered Dec 13 2011 at 17:39

tonysolo
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	Yeah, Foodtrainers just mentioned this in their blog. It's so new, it's not even on the Pacific foods website yet! foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2011/12/… – Beth-WeightMaven Dec 13 2011 at 18:26
	I just bought a couple of those paks at Whole Foods. It was really terrible stuff. The flavor was kind of metallic. I definitely won't buy them again--at least not that brand. – Soporificat Dec 14 2011 at 1:44

MinnaArdwna · Answer 4 · 2012-11-21 15:17:00Z UTC

Pumpkin, butternut or crookneck squash are super easy to prepare by steaming for pumpkin pie... or custard if you omit the crust. I am doing it right now (I came here to look about paleo seed prep ideas, as I feel high temp roasting is not the way to go.)

Just quarter a small pie pumpkin, scrape out the seeds into a bowl and put the quarters into a stockpot with an inch or two of water. Steam with a lid at medium heat (turn down once the water boils) until soft to a fork poke.

If using the tan neck squashes, slice these about 3/4 inch thick across the neck. I feel it's easier to scoop steamed pumpkin out of the skins, but another way to handle these is to peel raw with a veggie peeler before chopping.

Scoop out your steamed pumpkin flesh with a sppon and proceed with any pie recipe. One can (used to be 16 oz., now usually 15) equals two packed cups of pumpkin flesh. MinnaArdwna

blueballoon · Answer 5 · 2012-11-21 17:03:54Z UTC

The Farmers Market Foods organic canned pumpkin is BPA-free. I usually just roast/puree squash myself, but I do use that brand in a pinch. I find that brand at most grocery stores w/ natural foods sections (Wegmans, WF, Safeway, and I think sometimes Giant).

gydle · Answer 6 · 2011-12-13 17:37:31Z UTC

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Butternut squash is awesome, too. Less stringy than pumpkin.

answered Dec 13 2011 at 17:37

gydle
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get the buttercup or kabocha if you don't like strings. – The Loon Dec 16 2011 at 3:15

Is there BPA free pumpkin puree?

6 Answers