How to Pick the Right Pumpkin (Cooking with Pumpkin) - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Hi, my name is Mary Ellen Ray with Personal Touch Gourmet. I love the Fall. I love the flavors, I love the colors of Fall and I love to decorate my house and to bake. Pumpkins come from the squash family so, you will see them in the supermarkets and the farmer's markets at this time of year all different types of squash, every single color in the rainbow, every shape and size. So you will see pumpkins like this, and these are perfect for decorations. You will see the smaller ones which make great little soup holders if you want to bake soup. You can cut out the center, cut out the core and bake soup in them. They also make really pretty candle holders on your Thanksgiving or Halloween table. You want to look for a pumpkin without any blemishes or dark spots. You also do not want to pick a pumpkin that look like its starting to dry out or get moldy. You want one that has a beautiful color with firm skin and this is a great size to bake with. If you baked with pumpkin when this pumpkin is about a pound and a half, you would end up with about a cup and a half of pureed pumpkin. So this is the perfect size to buy if you are thinking of making up a batch of muffins or a batch of cookies in the afternoon.
