Pumpkin Butter

Rainy days here in Southern Minnesota as fall begins. Perfect weather for the last of the canning. The apples, grapes, squash and pumpkins to name a few. I also picked up some gourds this year and will be drying them and hopefully crafting with them in the spring, sooner if I am lucky. That is another post though.

For now I am filling my time with pumpkins. This year I made something I have never made before, have never even heard of before. Pumpkin butter. Every year I do apple butter, one of Dad's favorites, but pumpkin butter is new to me.

For Starters One Medium Roasted Pumpkin

After some internet research for recipes appropriate for canning up for the winter, I found one I was satisfied had a high enough acid content to be safe for winter canning. After roasting a nice pie pumpkin it was simmered in the crock pot until it was thick and yummy looking. I figured when a wooden spoon stood up straight in it, it was probably thick enough.

Simmering Away in the Crockpot

It was put into jars, given a hot water bath and there you have it. Cinnamony, citrusy, yummy pumpkin butter for a cold winter's night.

Pumpkin Butter in the Jar-O

The recipe I used for this yummy stuff is below.

3 c pumpkin puree
3 c brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

Mash everything together and put in a covered crock pot on low. Do not uncover for 1 hour. Next, uncover and continue the simmer for 2 more hours. Put into hot clean jars and put into a hot water bath for 25-30 minutes making sure you have 1 inch of water over the top of the jars. (When I used my water bath canner, I just turn it off when time is up and leave the jars in the canner overnight.) You should end up with about 2 pints of butter plus a partial jar to eat right away.

Here is the recipe/instructional I got my base recipe from and it also has good directions on the actual canning process.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pumpkin-Butter/?ALLSTEPS

And now here is the disclaimer. Many sites talk about the dangers of botulism due to the low acid content of pumpkin. One of the reasons I chose this recipe was because it used a fairly large amount of lemon juice which along with the sugar, raised the acidity.  As always, when canning anything,  be ultra clean and careful. If you are concerned about the acidity of this butter, the finished product can be refrigerated for several weeks or frozen for several months.