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Can the idea that fresh is better

For jack-o'-lanterns only fresh will do, but a pumpkin pie has a different set of requirements.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 25, 2006

But that rule of thumb fails when it comes to pumpkin and the many wonderful pies, breads and other goodies the orange squash spawns - even now, when its popularity and freshness are at their peaks.

"After trying a couple of times to make pies with 'from scratch' pumpkin puree (cutting, roasting, scraping, mashing), I concluded that it's really not worth the trouble - in fact, canned pumpkin is superior in some ways because the puree has been cooked down to a properly thick consistency," James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Brooke Dojny writes in her latest book, Dishing up Maine.

"Just be sure not to buy presweetened and spiced pumpkin pie filling," she cautions.

It may seem counterintuitive, but canned pumpkin provides the heavy texture and reliable consistency so essential to good baking much more effectively than fresh pumpkin does, Dojny said.

Ambitious cooks who take all the trouble to make a pumpkin pie from scratch are likely to find that the extra effort yields little advantage.

"The taste isn't very different at all from the canned," Dojny says.

The former prep chef for Martha Stewart says her preference for canned pumpkin runs counter to her usual approach to cooking.

"When the fresh is available, it's usually the better choice," she says, admitting she was hard-pressed to think of an ingredient other than pumpkin where that was not the case.

The exception is for pumpkin baked or roasted as a vegetable, for which Dojny says fresh is best, as is the case with any kind of squash.

When selecting fresh pumpkins for eating, Dojny suggests the so-called sugar pumpkins, which are much smaller, darker in color and rounder in shape than the large Halloween pumpkins used to make jack-o'-lanterns. The latter tend to be watery and make poor pies and cakes.

Dojny's recipe for bourbon pumpkin pie follows a classic formula. A small slug of bourbon (or rum) is added for interest, but she says the pie is fine without spirits.

Bourbon Pumpkin Pie

Pie pastry for single-crust pie

15-ounce can (2 cups) pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons bourbon or rum

11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Sweetened whipped cream, to serve

-Preheat oven to 375.

-On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough, working from the center until you have a 12-inch round. Fold the dough in half and ease it into a 9-inch pie pan with the fold in the center. Unfold the dough and fit the pastry into the pan. Trim and flute the edges and prick the crust all over with a fork.

-Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

-Press a sheet of foil into the bottom of the pie shell. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the crust is pale golden. If the pastry starts to puff up, press the bottom gently with a large spatula to flatten.

-Fill immediately or cool on a rack.

-To make the filling, in a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, sugar and eggs. Then whisk in the cream, milk, bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Pour into the pie shell.

-Bake until the filling is set at the edges and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before serving at room temperature.

-Serve topped with whipped cream.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Source: Brooke Dojny's Dishing up Maine (Storey Publishing, 2006, $19.95)

[Last modified October 24, 2006, 15:41:27]