Roasted Pumpkin Butter

[Dagger]

Can this be made using canned pumpkin?

Pumpkin-Apple Butter | Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

[KYHeirloomer]

Absolutely!

It will have a slightly different taste, because canned pumpkin is cooked by steaming, rather than roasting. But with the spices and other ingredients you probably won't notice.

FWIW, if you make a large batch, USDA and all other food preservation groups strongly recommend against home canning of pumpkin butter. Personally, I don't buy into their reasoning. But you should be aware that there are safety concerns.

[Dagger]

Do you have recipes for pumpkin butter? They said that even when using the canned stuff but i'll make jsut what a recipe calls for and keep it in the fridge or freezer?

[KYHeirloomer]

1 quart pumpkin puree
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp powdered cloves

Mix all ingredients over low flame. Simmer until thick, stirring frequently to avoid scorching.

[Luc_H]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

FWIW, if you make a large batch, USDA and all other food preservation groups strongly recommend against home canning of pumpkin butter. Personally, I don't buy into their reasoning. But you should be aware that there are safety concerns.

KYH I know you know why it is not recommended to can this product i.e. Low acid.

That recipe you gave looks good. I will try it.
I would guess using oven roasted/caramelized peppercorn squash (instead of pumpkin) would also taste very good.

Luc H.

[KYHeirloomer]

It's not just that it's low acid, Luc. They even recommend against canning it in a pressure cooker.

There are two given reasons. First is density. Because density is both stong, and variable, they feel that consistent time/pressure figures cannot be established. Second, of course, is acidity; or, rather, the lack thereof.

However, USDA did a study of commercial specialty canners who put up pumpkin butter using steam canning (which is comparable to a boiling-water bath at home). In almost all cases, none of them met the minimum acidity levels considered safe. Yet, USDA didn't make any effort to close them down.

So what are they saying? That it's ok for a commercial company to poison us, but that we can't poison ourselves?

Which is one of the reasons I have little faith in USDA's safe-food practices and guidelines.

[Dagger]

Napa Style sells this stuff jared, so is it safe from them? How long can this stuff be keeped in the fridge or freezer?

NapaStyle Roasted Pumpkin Butter - Food & Beverage - NapaStyle

[KYHeirloomer]

Assuming it's made like a regular butter, it should keep two days longer than forever.

Butters are a sugar-cured soft spread. Somewhere in my files I have the definitions of butters vs jams vs marmalades. The last is easy, as it contains citrus. The others are defined by the percentage of sugar to pulp.

Be that as it may, the spoilage factor in soft spreads is mold. So, as long as there isn't any, the spread is ok.

It is not recommended, once moldy, that you merely scrape off the mold, because the toxins have spread throughout the product. Toss it.

As an aside, ten bucks plus shipping for a cup is a darn good reason to make your own butters, IMO.