Ultimate pumpkin pie | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why is evaporated milk used in pumpkin pie? ›

Evaporated milk: A can of evaporated milk lends richness and helps thicken the pie filling.

Although she doesn't often stray from traditional flavors, her pumpkin pie recipe is actually pretty unique. The classic warm spices — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg — are there, but what makes Ina's recipe special is the addition of orange zest and dark rum.

Patti Labelle's Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe- Southern Soul Food

Distinctive dishes are precisely prepared, using fresh ingredients.

Often, blind-baking solves this problem. If you're making a single crust custard-filled pie, like a pumpkin pie, bake the pie dough first before adding filling to allow some of the moisture in the crust to evaporate. You can also totally blind-bake fruit pies.

Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven. The layer will absorb moisture and prevent the filling from turning the crust soggy.

As the name suggests, sweetened condensed milk makes the pie sweeter and gives it a denser, creamier texture. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, yields a lighter, airier result. Evaporated milk isn't sweetened either, which is why you can't simply swap one thickener for the other.

During my testing of pumpkin pies, I tried lots of different milk options – heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion.

Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

While the canned pumpkin puree is just canned pumpkin, the Libby "Canned Pumpkin Pie Filling" also has sugar syrup, natural flavoring, salt and spices.

Which canned pumpkin is best for pie? ›

Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

This Libby's pumpkin puree is neutral to a tee. It has a deep orange color and a clean, delicious flavor that lands somewhere between savory and sweet.

filling: pumpkin, sugar, water, nonfat dry milk, eggs, modified corn starch, spice, soybean oil, salt. crust: enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), soybean oil and hydrogenated soybean oil, water, dextrose, salt, dough conditioner (sodium metabisulfite).

If you were to take a bite of both sweet potato and pumpkin pies, you'll notice that there are more similarities than differences. They're both made with eggs, vanilla, and milk (either whole or condensed), and they're both seasoned with warm spices including cinnamon and nutmeg.

Cinderella pumpkins are best suited for cooked applications such as roasting, baking, and steaming. Their sweet flavor and creamy texture make them ideal for use in baked goods and desserts such as pies, bread, muffins, cookies, and cakes. They can also be pureed and used to make pumpkin ice cream.

Although they both come in cans and the packaging looks almost identical, they can't be used interchangeably. Pumpkin puree doesn't have anything added to it, but pumpkin pie filling comes with pumpkin spice and sugar already mixed in.

They are the same product. Both canned pumpkin puree and pie filling are useful, shelf-stable ingredients that can help speed up your kitchen prep time. Just remember that puree is unsweetened, while pie filling contains sugar and spices. This will help you choose the right pumpkin product for your recipes.

Sugar Baby Pumpkin

Also known as Sugar Pie pumpkins, these thin-skinned squash are smaller (4-8 lbs.) and have a sweet, dense flesh with a fine-grained, smooth texture. The cooked flesh is a bit drier, which makes a great pie filling.