OK, so it’s Thanksgiving, and you’re trying to psyche yourself up. You want to save time and money, but don’t want to cut corners? You’re not alone.
To feed the hungry hordes, you know you’re going to have to roast a turkey. Make stuffing. Peel, prepare and cook all the vegetables. Make a vegetarian entrée for your non-carnivorous relatives. Get wine, beer and other beverages. Oh, yes, and make your home presentable for guests.
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On top of all that, you don’t want to serve a cheap, store-bought pumpkin pie for dessert. You want to serve a “real” pie that you made yourself.
You want to save time and money with Thanksgiving dinner, but don’t want to cut corners? You’re not alone.
Assuming you are this heroic, you may ask yourself one big question:
Do you need to make it with fresh pumpkin? Or can you get away with using canned pumpkin? Is there really that big a difference in flavor?
It’s not an idle question. Making a pie with fresh pumpkin is plenty of extra work, involving lots of extra cutting, scooping and baking. It uses up more space and creates plenty of extra mess.
So is it worth it?
We ran a blind taste test to see what people thought. I asked Sandy Russo, a master baker in Boston’s North End and the owner of Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe, to make two pies that were absolutely identical in every respect — except that one was made with canned pumpkin, and one was made with fresh. Then I asked 10 people to taste each one.
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I didn’t tell them which was which, or even what the difference was. I merely asked them to taste two pumpkin pies from Lulu’s and tell me which pie they preferred, and why.
Bottom line? Drum roll, please…
Six of 10 people preferred the pie made with a can. Just three people preferred the pie made with fresh pumpkin.
You can save yourself all the extra effort.
Six of 10 people actually preferred the pie made with canned pumpkin. Just three people preferred the pie made with fresh. The 10th tasted a slice of each pie twice, pondered for a moment, and said: “I think they’re identical. I can’t tell the difference.”
Some of the subjects actually said the canned pumpkin tasted more of pumpkin. Several people preferred the consistency. Some said it was slightly sweeter.
Canned pumpkin is a lot more convenient. And you’re probably not sacrificing nutrients either, says the Mayo Clinic.
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Canned is also cheaper, according to one food blogger who tried making pumpkin puree herself versus buying the canned version. The fresh cost $1.12 per pound while the canned was $.77 per pound. A 12-inch, 3.63-pound pumpkin pie will cost you $5.99 at Costco COST, -0.34% but prices can go as high as $52 for an 11-inch pie at Neiman Marcus.
A call to arms to bring back fresh pumpkin
Rachel Rodgers, professor of psychology at Northeastern University, found the results slightly depressing. People like what they’re used to, she said. If they preferred the pie made with canned pumpkin, it’s because that’s what they know. (Rodgers, too, preferred the pie made with canned pumpkin.)
She hoped the results might be a call to arms to bring back fresh pumpkin pie.
Local resident George Hadaya says he eats homemade pie, made with fresh pumpkin, every year. He was among the few to show a clear preference for the fresh pumpkin pie in the test, too. “This one has more taste,” he said of it. “It’s creamier too.”
But unless you have guests with their own pumpkin patch, you can probably save yourself the extra effort.
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