Whew, long day here, but scored jars and pumpkins....recipes,

I def want to make pumpkin butter, i have 4 pie pumpkins snd 1 regular sized that my grandma gave me. Also yesterday I got 20 jars for $4 at a garage sale and my mom gave me about 20 today while I was helping her clean.

Kristine,
Wonderful find (and gift) on the jars. I am a firm believer that there must be hundreds of thousands of canning jars socked away in cellars, sheds, barns, etc., just waiting to be found/purchased by the right person interested in food preservation.

I have a recipe for pumpkin butter that was published in the Indianapolis Star Jan 3, 1982. I made it at the time and we thoroughly enjoyed it. That being said, I have since learned that the "powers that be" have determined that pumpkin butter is too dense to be safely canned. If you are concerned, I assume that it could be frozen. However, I will give you the recipe as it was published in '82.

6 lbs pumpkin
2 Tbl gr ginger
2 Tbl gr cinnamon
1 tsp gr allspice
5 lbs lt brown sugar
Juice of 5 lemons
1 pt water

Scrub pumpkin, then peel, reserving rind. Chop pumpkin pieces finely. Chop rind finely. (When I make this again, I think I'll try combining these steps and just put unpeeled chunks into the VitaMix). To pumpkin, add spices, sugar, lemon juice and chopped rind. Let stand overnight. Add water and boil slowly until pumpkin is clear and mixture thick. Pour into hot jars and seal.

Note: In 1982, I water bathed this like apple butter. The next time I make it, I will pressure can it.

Note: I think grating the lemon zest would make a tasty addition.