Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere

Making Pumpkin Powder

It’s early October and pumpkins seem to be everywhere. You can find them at grocery stores, farmers markets, fall festivals and farm stores.
Sadly, many of these pumpkins find use as autumn decorations and will not make it to the dinner table.
Pumpkins are valuable food used by the Native Americans and pioneers. They are nutritious, store well and can be used in many ways.
One of the uses I am trying for the first time this year is making pumpkin powder.
This is a simple project involving a mandoline slicer, dehydrator and a blender.
The first step is to clean and skin the pumpkin.
Cut the top off and then slice the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and pulp, which can be a messy job.
Next, cut the pumpkin into sections and peel, using a vegetable peeler. Cut the sections into smaller wedges and place in a large bowl and cover with lemon juice. I just use bottled lemon juice, found at any grocery store. I used about one cup of the lemon juice in a half gallon of water. This step is necessary to keep the raw pumpkin wedges from oxidizing and turning dark.
After placing the wedges in a colander to dry, I run the wedges through the mandoline, using the julienne attachment. This produces long, threadlike pieces of pumpkin.
These go into the dehydrator for about six to eight hours. Set the temperature to about 150 degrees.
The resulting dehydrated “threads,” are next run through a blender to produce a powder, which I will then seal in packets, using a vacuum sealer. The powder could also be stored in an airtight container.
The powder has various uses, including adding it to yogurt, oatmeal and to sprinkle over ice cream. It can be made into a puree, which can then be used to make pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, bread or other tasty treat.