Kitchen Myths

I believed this for years–that the canned pumpkin puree sold for making pies and the like actually comes from a kind of squash. But in reality, about 90% of canned pumpkin is real pumpkin. Not the bright orange jack-o-lantern kind of pumpkin, which has been bred for looks and not flavor. Rather, the Dickinson pumpkin is typically used due to its being meatier and tastier.

Squash is indeed sometimes used but there’s no need to turn your nose up. It can be just as tasty as “real” pumpkin and some people actually prefer it.