Anchorage Daily News

T hose big ol' beastie pumpkins we all like to carve into jack-o'-lanterns tend to hog the glory during October, but when the frost is on those bountiful gourds, our thoughts should also turn to their littler siblings.

Generally, the giants that make for frightening faces also make ghoulish ingredients in dishes we like to eat. Bakers and soup makers should shop for what are called pie pumpkins or sweet pumpkins because they have sweeter flesh and less water than the big ones.

Ted Pyrah, a farmer in the shadow of the Butte and former culinary instructor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said he grows Lumina, a white pumpkin, and Autumn Gold, a gourd that's "never green. It's born orange and gets more orange as the season goes along."

He said last week he still had a few left, but the pumpkins have been popular this year, not always for cooking or carving.

"Schoolteachers will come here and take 30 of them. They probably give one to every kid in their class. I had one woman come out and take 45 of the Luminas. She was going to use them in a wedding. Decorations, I suppose."

Pyrah, owner of Pioneer Peak Farm, said he prefers hot pumpkin soup and crustless pumpkin pie.

"I don't like pie crusts, so I just make a custard pie filling. If anybody hands me a pumpkin pie with crust, I just eat the filling and send the crust back for a refill."

As for pumpkin soup, don't feed it to him cold. He said he had enough of that when he was teaching culinary students.

"I guess some places where it's hot all the time, they like cold soups, but here, where we have five days of hot weather a year, I like mine hot."

Pies and soups hardly begin to cover the range of dishes that pumpkins can be a main part of: muffins, turnovers, cakes, biscuits, purees, ice cream, brulees, cookies, sauces, jams -- and don't forget to toast those seeds.

Of course, shoppers can find pumpkins in cans year-round. But when crops are in season is when they should be enjoyed right off the farm, whether it's Pyrah's out in the Valley or a farm far off in California.

Right now, they're at their nutritional best. As the University of Illinois Extension Service reports, the bright orange color of pumpkin is a dead giveaway that they're loaded with the antioxidant beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body, which performs many important functions in overall health, including reducing the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offering protection against heart disease. Beta-carotene offers protection against other diseases as well as some degenerative aspects of aging.

Some of the other good stuff pumpkin eaters get includes calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc and vitamins C, A and E. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated that diets high in pumpkin as a fiber source tended to curb the appetite yet provided more food for the same calorie count. The people in the study also absorbed less fat and calories from their food.

To add all those fine health benefits, some simple shopping tips are in order.

• Look for a pumpkin with 1 to 2 inches of stem left. If the stem is cut down too low, the pumpkin will decay quickly or may be decaying at the time of purchase.

• Avoid pumpkins with blemishes and soft spots.

• It should be heavy for its size.

• Shape is unimportant. A lopsided pumpkin is not necessarily a bad pumpkin.

• Figure 1 pound of raw, untrimmed pumpkin for each cup of finished pumpkin puree.

As anyone who has carved a crooked smile on a jack-o'-lantern knows, preparing a pumpkin is a messy job. The best way to make it less messy is to spread newspaper -- yesterday's -- over your work surface. Cut the stem out, then cut the pumpkin in half. Save the seeds for roasting later.

To boil or steam the pumpkin, cut it into large pieces and rinse in cold water. Put the chunks in a large pot with about a cup of water. The water does not need to cover the pumpkin pieces. Cover the pot and boil for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender, or steam for 10 to 12 minutes. Check for doneness by poking with a fork. Drain the cooked pumpkin in a colander. Reserve the liquid to use as a base for soup.

To bake in an oven, cut pumpkin in half, scraping away stringy mass and seeds. Rinse under cold water. Place pumpkin, cut side down, on a large cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until fork- tender.

You can also microwave a pumpkin. Cut it in half and put the cut side down on a microwave-safe plate or tray. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, check for doneness. If necessary, continue cooking at one- to two-minute intervals until fork tender.

Whichever method you use, you now need to create the puree. When the pumpkin's cool enough to handle, remove the peel. Put the peeled pumpkin in a food processor and puree, or use a food mill, ricer, strainer or potato masher to form a puree. Use this as you would the canned variety. Always check for salt content, though, and adjust accordingly because the fresh will likely have less than the canned.

Pumpkin puree freezes well. To freeze it, measure cooled puree into one cup portions, place in ridged freezer containers, leaving ¹/₂-inch head space or pack into zip closure bags. Label, date and freeze for up to one year.