Raw pumpkin

[tvillemom]

Gearing up for the holidays. Last year I made "pumpkin" pie, but used butternut squash. I would love to use pumpkin....but...BUT, I had a real hard time peeling one and getting the "meat" of it free.

Does anyone have any tips????

Wendi

[valkyriesmyst]

I feel your pain. I bought three pie pumpkins the other day and I couldn't even get one peeled. It was so tough. I tried soaking it in salt water and that helped a little but I couldn't think of anything that would taste good enough to go through so much work. So I gave up. :eek: I am battling a cold too and my energy level is a little zapped so that might have something to do with why I gave up so easily.

I'd like to hear any tips anyone has as well.

[HikerGirl]

i made a raw pumpkin pie the other day and peeling that darn pumpkin was definitely the worst part! here's what i did... i cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces, little 2x2 in squares, leaving the skin on. then i soaked all of the pieces in a big bowl of water (use enough water to cover all pieces) overnight in the refrigerator. when i woke up the next day, i wasn't able to peel or scoop it, but it was really easy to cut away the skin with a knife and it was so easy to turn it into into pre-chilled pie filling in the processor.

the pie was super good and well worth the effort - way better than making it from carrots and spices, like a lot of recipes suggest - nothing quite like real pumpkin! good luck!

[tvillemom]

AND....I was thinking.....if God wanted me to eat this...would he have made it so hard to get into????? I do love pumpkin though....especially the SAD version. I have made 1 butternut "pumpkin" pie and it was ok. I felt like it would've been better if it was pumkin and raw.

Oh, I hope someone has a magic trick up their sleeve!!!

[Shine]

I second hiker girl - the smaller the piece, the easier it is to get the peel off! I chunk it into cubes and cut the peel with a knife. Used to watch my great-grandmother doing this!!

[tvillemom]

Thanks! See....I never thought of cutting the pumpkin into smaller pieces and then cutting the peel away!

[joliepolie]

I have had success by cutting it into chunks and just grating it down to the skin rather than peeling it. Then soak in water overnight to remove the excess starchiness,drain,squeeze out excess water and proceed with your recipe. Makes it alot more palatable. Hope this helps!

[Aleesha Sattva]

hmmmm i wonder if putting the chunks (or slivers) into the dehydrator would help? letting it warm up for an hour or two and then peeling it off???

[joliepolie]

I have had success by cutting it into chunks and just grating it down to the skin rather than peeling it. Then soak in water overnight to remove the excess starchiness,drain,squeeze out excess water and proceed with your recipe. Makes it alot more palatable. Hope this helps!

Just to clarify..I did not mean grating the skin to get to the inside..I meant grating the flesh until you get to the skin. Works quite well

[RoseGreen]

I have thought about grating off the skin as well, by cutting it into pieces and using a microplane. It seemed like the best answer so far. Or- I wanted to see if a very sharp cheese planer would work.