Thoughts:
The color!
I perused a lot of various pumpkin juice recipes online before starting this post, but didn’t find any that really leapt out at me. The closest had apricot juice; I have never seen apricots and pumpkins ripe at the same time! So I swapped the apricot for some seasonally appropriate apple cider, and spiced to my own preference. I also did something with my pumpkin juice that I haven’t seen done elsewhere.
I let it ferment.
Not a lot, mind you, but just enough to give it a little fizz. The resulting juice is lightly sparkly, with subtle spicy ginger flavors overlaying the deeper pumpkin. Although it might seem that the juice is mostly apple cider, the pumpkin element is quite pronounced, enhanced by the cider, rather than overpowered by it.
It’s pretty awesome. :)
Pumpkin Juice Recipe
Roasting: 45 minutes Straining: 30 minutes Mixing: 10 minutes Optional fermenting: 2-4 days
Makes about 4 cups of juice
Cook’s Notes: Don’t throw away that puree once you’re done draining the juices! Use it as pumpkin pie filling, as in this 17th C. recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 5 lb. sugar pumpkin
- 4 cups apple cider
- 1-2″ fresh ginger root, sliced thin
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- pinch of cardamom
Slice the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and guts. Roast the pumpkin halves in the oven at 350F for at least 40 minutes, or until it is cooked all the way through, and soft.
Puree with the apple cider, skin and all, then pour, in batches, into a fine sieve suspended over a large bowl. Allow the pumpkin to drain, stirring occasionally to allow as much liquid as possible to drain out. Save the pumpkin for another recipe, such as Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Pasties.
Simmer with remaining ingredients until the flavors are melded, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.
If you would like a little natural fizz in your pumpkin juice, cover the bowl with a dishcloth and let sit for a couple of days. It will develop a cloudy, bubbly top, which indicates it is fermenting. Allow to ferment to taste, and serve room temperature or slightly chilled.
This sounds delicious…unfortunately I live in the non-pumpkin country of Germany and I can’t remember ever seing a sugar pumpkin anywhere. We mainly have hokkaido pumpkins…not sure if they would work (and even if might be a bit too large, considering I’ll probably the only one drinking it)…but I’ll keep looking.
Aoife, I think a sugar pumpkin is just a small pumpkin – in contrast to the large ones used for jack-o-lanterns that aren’t used for cooking.
I think butternut squash is almost exactly the same as a sugar pumpkin (I know you can substitute one for the other in almost everything…) so if you have those, I’d go for it!
In Australia they’re called Butternut Pumpkins anyway.
So, once the juice has fermented for the desired time, do we strain it again to get rid of the bubbly, cloudy head, or just pour it straight into a container and drink?
I just drank it! :)
Excellent! I’m ready to make this!
I always wondered how you could possibly make juice out of pumpkin. My conclusion was that you couldn’t, though I did consider steaming the pumpkin to soften it and yes, butternut is much easier to deal with than other kinds. My oven has died on me, so until I can get it fixed, steamed will have to be the way. Thank you!
Hi, Just made this and while it tastes nothing like pumpkin, just apple juice, it does make a good and healthy breakfast smoothie if you don’t strain it :D I used Butternut squash because that’s what I could find and peeled before blenderizing. I could see myself having this for breakfast every day. I can’t eat first thing in the morning and end up having something unhealthy on the go, this would be a very nice alternative :)
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?TLUOH 21 September 2014 Pumpkin Juice
One 25 pound pumpkin was made into 21 liters of juice. The pumpkin was cut into small pieces, covered with water and cooked until soft, beat into a slurry and strained through a food mill. The juice was placed in liter jars and pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for storage.A temperature sensor was placed in one jar to insure the inside temperature got to 121C.The temperature senors were received recently.
Great pumpkin juice recipe. Lovely recipe, I love this recipe and want to try this at my lunch hour. Thanks for sharing.