Tag Archives: pumpkin

Pumpkin Puree

Recipe,

 

  • Cut a small pie pumpkin in half and remove seeds.
  • Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until tender (poking with a fork should not meet resistance).
  • Let cool and pour off any water.
  • Scrape pumpkin meat out and puree until smooth.  Add a small amount of water if it’s too thick to blend.
  • Should make 2-3 cups.

 

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Recipe,

1½ cups water
1¼ cups white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

¼ tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. pumpkin puree

  • Combine water and sugar in saucepan and simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.
  • Add spices and pumpkin; simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and add vanilla and remaining pumpkin; mix until pumpkin is dissolved.
  • Strain into glass jar and refrigerate.
  • Add 1-2 Tbsp. (to taste) to a latte to make a pumpkin spice latte.

Adapted from: http://everydayannie.com/2011/10/03/diy-pumpkin-spice-syrup-for-pumpkin-spice-lattes

Pumpkin Beer Tasting

Beer, ,

Pumpkin Tasting LineupWe’ve had a couple of pumpkin beers this fall, and picked up a few more in Asheville last weekend, so we had a little side-by-side tasting.

  • Thirsty Dog’s Pumpkin Ale.  This surprised me at how light-bodied it was, since I generally expect fall seasonal beers to be malty, dark, or both.  But this was almost like a pilsner, with a little twang.  The pumpkin taste was very subdued.  But overall, I’d say this is nice, and easy-drinking.
  • Southern Tier’s Pumking.  This brew had a definite pumpkin aroma, but the flavor was overwhelmed by vanilla and spice.  In fact, I had a hard time picking up anything else.  Wind likes this much more than I do, and the ratings online are pretty high, but I find it just barely drinkable, and not very pumpkiny at all.
  • Cigar City’s Good Gourd.  This is my idea of what a pumpkin beer should be, with definite spice and vanilla notes, but not overwhelming the pumpkin flavor.  This beer has a little more sweetness and body, and has the highest ABV at 9.5%.
  • Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter.  A decent porter, if a little thin.  Unfortunately, the pumpkin is drowned out by over-strong smoke and coffee.  Finishes a little too bitter, but with more pumpkin at least.

Overall, I’m a little disappointed.  I expected beers with pumpkin in the name to have a more pronounced pumpkin flavor.  Only the Good Gourd met my expectations on that score, and is definitely my favorite of the bunch.  The Thirsty Dog Pumpkin Ale would be the runner up, and I’m definitely glad I picked up a bottle when I had the chance.