Pureed vs. Canned

• A can of pumpkin puree from the store just needs to be plopped into your bowl at the right time and incorporated with other ingredients. Fresh pumpkin puree will need to be modified a little bit to be effectively substituted. Once you've prepared, roasted, scooped and pureed your pumpkin, you'll want to make a few simple changes to close the gap between canned and fresh puree.

Adding Flavor

• Some brands of canned pumpkin add some sugar and spices to their puree prior to packaging. If your recipe calls for spiced puree, stir additional pumpkin pie spices into your puree before adding to the recipe. Traditional pumpkin pie spices typically include cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. You can also add ground ginger or vanilla and other extracts for additional flavor.

Sweetening It Up

• Homemade pumpkin puree is also often less sweet than the canned variety, even if sugar isn't added, due to the types and sizes of the pumpkins used. You can add 1 to 3 tablespoons of white or brown sugar to your puree before mixing it in with the other ingredients in your recipe to compensate for this difference.

Reducing Moisture

• When you open up a can of pumpkin puree, it's usually solid and compact, while homemade puree will be looser and tend to be more easily poured. Once you puree your pumpkin flesh, place it in a colander or cheesecloth-lined sieve over a large bowl for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator to allow the juices to drain from the puree. At the end of the drain, you can stir the puree and press down a bit with a spoon to make sure you remove all excess liquid.

Textural Differences

• The other primary difference between homemade and canned puree will be the texture of the pumpkin. Canned will be flawlessly smooth and even in appearance. Your homemade puree may have a few chunks or strings, especially if you mashed your pumpkin by hand. These differences in texture won't affect your recipe beyond the occasional small chunk of soft pumpkin in your end product. To smooth out as much as possible, puree for longer or mash until you achieve your desired consistency.