Pumpkin is a very healthy vegetable that contains many vitamins and minerals. It can be consumed raw and processed, served as a side dish for meat, used for desserts and other recipes. Moreover, pumpkin is a low-calorie product, which is why it is often included in diets.
By the way, about whether it is a vegetable, a fruit or a berry, there are differences of opinion between scientists. As a rule, most people call a pumpkin a vegetable, but from a scientific point of view it is still a berry.
Pumpkin ripening season - autumn. It is in the fall that the housewives begin to harvest pumpkins for the winter and prepare many delicious dishes. One of them is pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin good
And what is this vegetable useful for? Why is he so praised? The benefits of the product are undeniable. It’s just a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. One has only to look at their set: vitamins of group A, B, P, PP, E and C. The content of vitamin T in it is special, which provides an improvement in metabolism and prevents obesity.
The main minerals that pumpkin contains are: potassium, magnesium, copper, zinc, calcium, fluorine, phosphorus and sulfur. Also, pumpkin pulp is rich in iron, pectin, and beta-carotene. It is worth noting that only 100 grams of pumpkins contain a daily norm of beta-carotene for a child.
What should be pumpkin for mashed potatoes
For a product such as pumpkin puree, ripe pumpkin must be selected. Of course, you can’t try a vegetable in supermarkets, so you need to be able to choose it in appearance. Here are some tips on choosing the right mashed pumpkin:
- the vegetable should be round or oval and medium in size;
- weight - about 3-5 kilograms;
- the peel of a ripe pumpkin will be dense, covered with natural wax;
- note that the tail will be dry and dark;
- if the pumpkin is cut, the color of the pulp should be bright orange or yellow:
- ripe pumpkin seeds will be ripe.
How to bake mashed pumpkin
As a rule, for pumpkin puree, the vegetable is pre-baked in the oven. Before baking, you must turn on the oven at a temperature of 180 to 250 degrees (depending on the size of the vegetable). Pumpkin puree is prepared very quickly. And after baking, the vegetable will still need to be cut into cubes, so it is not so important in what form it will be baked.
While the oven is warming up, wash the vegetable and cut it in half. This is necessary in order to clean the middle of the seeds.
By the way, pumpkin seeds are also a very useful product, so we recommend that you wash them from the pulp and leave to dry.
A pumpkin freed from seeds does not need to be peeled. You can send into the oven in half cut, or you can cut each half into 3-4 parts.
Spread a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and place a pumpkin on it. After you can send in the oven for an hour and a half. From time to time, check if the pumpkin is ready with a fork. When the product becomes completely soft, you can remove it from the oven. Give the pumpkin time to cool, then remove the peel from its parts and grind into medium-sized cubes.
How to make pumpkin puree
When the baked pumpkin has cooled down and is completely ready for further processing, the matter remains small. Now you can cook pumpkin puree. The recipe is very simple. For mashed potatoes we take a blender and portionwise lay a pumpkin. Add salt or pepper to taste. Next, you need to put the mashed potatoes in sealed vessels (jars, for example) so that it is stored longer.
Cream pumpkin puree is prepared in the same way as a regular product, the only difference is that additional cream is added to it. This is a great base for pumpkin puree soup, the variations of which can be numerous.