Pumpkin season is quickly approaching. You know, the season where everyone uses pumpkin for everything. A common question people ask around this time is what’s the difference between pumpkin and pumpkin puree? This isn’t a question worth fretting about because it’s actually pretty easy to answer and understand. Of course, you know what a regular pumpkin is. It’s something you can buy at the store in the whole form. However, there are companies that puree that pumpkin, so it’s easy to cook with. While you could puree your own pumpkin, it would be a timely process.

Are you curious about the difference between solid pack pumpkin and pumpkin puree? Have no fear because this is also simple to understand. Solid pack pumpkin is just pumpkin. You won’t find any other ingredient in it, it’s just pumpkin. Pumpkin puree is also simply pumpkin, nothing else. Some stores use the term pumpkin puree but this just means it’s better for baking. Pumpkin puree saves you time when you want to bake, so you don’t have to scoop your own pumpkin. Solid pack pumpkin containers can be misleading because it looks like it’s actual pumpkin pie filling, but it’s not. You still need to add spices and sweetener to it to create an actual pumpkin pie.

What do you do if you’re baking and don’t have any pumpkin puree? First, don’t panic! Secondly, you don’t have to run to the store right away. There are actually things you can use in place of pumpkin puree.

Yes, you can easily substitute canned pumpkin for pumpkin puree. It’s very simple to add 1 cup fresh puree for 1 cup canned.

Not every can of pumpkin will say puree, but if it says pumpkin on it, it’s most likely pureed. You can buy pumpkin pie from almost any store you can buy food from. Look for the cans of pumpkin that have a pumpkin pie on it.