Recipe: How to Freeze Pumpkin / How to Store Pumpkin

FREEZING PUMPKIN

Preparation:
Select full-colored mature pumpkin with fine texture. Wash, cut into cooking-size sections and remove seeds.

Cook until soft in boiling water, in steam, in a pressure cooker or in an oven. Remove pulp from rind and mash. To cool, place pan containing pumpkin in cold water and stir occasionally. Package, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal and freeze.

STORING PUMPKINS
Harvest pumpkins after the rind is hard enough to resist
puncturing by a thumbnail. Cool weather increases sugar
content and storage life. Avoid bruising and harvest with
the stem on.

Storage should be done after pumpkins have been cured. Curing is done for 10 to 14 days at temperatures between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If no other area is available, curing may be done near furnace. After curing, store pumpkins at 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 to 75
percent humidity. Cured pumpkins will keep to 2 to 3
months. Chill injury occurs at temperatures less than 50
degrees Fahrenheit.