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" Availability: September through December Peak Season: October Buying Tips \u2022 Buy firm, bright-colored pumpkins, free from cuts or nicks. \u2022 Mini pumpkins have a rich, sweet flavor. \u2022 Other cooking pumpkins include sugar, cheese, and pie pumpkins. They are often cooked and used for pie filling, but canned solid-pack pumpkin is a very consistent, high-quality product. \u2022 Jack-o&amp;#039;-lantern pumpkins have string, watery flesh and are best reserved for Halloween decorations. To Store Store pumpkins in a cool, dry place up to one month. To Prepare Cut pumpkin in half or into quarters; remove the seeds and scrape out the stringy portions. Cut into large pieces. To Cook To steam, in a saucepot, heat 1 inch of water to boiling over high heat; add pumpkin pieces and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-high; cover and cook until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, cool, and peel. If desired, mash with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Or, if using for pie filling, puree in a blender or food processor with knife blade attached. Do not add other ingredients. Place in a paper towel-lined sieve set over a bowl and let drain to remove excess liquid; puree should have the same thickness as solid-pack canned pumpkin. One pound of uncooked pumpkin yields about 1 cup puree. Excerpted with permission from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook NEXT: DIY a Pumpkin Punch Bowl \u00BB Photo: Nikolay Suslov/iStock "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/cooking/tips/a22157/pumpkin-guide/>