Although the first fresh pumpkin I used in a recipe had once been my jack-o-lantern, I’ve since learned that there are different pumpkins for these uses.
Thayer Wine of the Gannett News Service wrote a wonderful little article — with recipes for pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, orange-walnut pumpkin bars, and easy pumpkin cake — that explains a bit about the difference in pumpkins and their purposes. He also mentions the difference between canned and fresh pumpkin.
For example, did you know the Long Island Cheese pumpkin is sometimes called a “hog pumpkin”? Had you ever heard of a Long Island Cheese pumpkin? Did you know that four cups grated pumpkin equals 1 cup of pumpkin puree?
NOTE: Alas, the original article has been taken down. So I found this one instead.
