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Modern method

Pressure-canned pumpkin cubes

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Plain pumpkin cubes hot-packed in water and pressure-canned for later cooking. The pieces stay intact during canning; mash them only after opening.

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Pressure-canned pumpkin cubes on a warm ivory background.

The preserve

This is the established USDA process for keeping plain pumpkin or mature winter squash in jars at room temperature. It applies to firm cubes in water. It does not cover puree, mash, soup, pumpkin butter, dense paste, oil-packed pumpkin, or spaghetti squash that separates into strands. The liquid spaces between intact cubes matter because they change how heat moves through the jar.

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Ingredients and equipment

Allow approximately 4.5 kg whole pumpkin for a load of nine US pint jars, or 7.3 kg for seven US quarts. Actual yield varies with rind and seed-cavity size. A US pint is approximately 473 ml and a US quart approximately 946 ml; these are not British imperial pints or quarts. The published table uses those US jar sizes.

Use a pressure canner suitable for USDA methods, large enough to hold at least four quart jars upright on a rack. Do not transfer this schedule to a small pressure cooker or multicooker. Check the gauge and canner instructions before beginning.

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Processing schedule

Hot pack only. Maintain the required pressure continuously for 55 minutes for US pints or 90 minutes for US quarts. Choose the pressure by gauge type and actual elevation.

Elevation, feet: 0–2,000; Dial-gauge canner pressure: 11 psi.

Elevation, feet: 2,001–4,000; Dial-gauge canner pressure: 12 psi.

Elevation, feet: 4,001–6,000; Dial-gauge canner pressure: 13 psi.

Elevation, feet: 6,001–8,000; Dial-gauge canner pressure: 14 psi.

Elevation, feet: 0–1,000; Weighted-gauge canner pressure: 10 psi.

Elevation, feet: Above 1,000; Weighted-gauge canner pressure: 15 psi.

The cited dial-gauge table stops at 8,000 feet; do not extrapolate another row without qualified guidance.

Operate the canner correctly.

Follow the canner's water-fill and loading instructions. Vent a continuous stream of steam for ten minutes before pressurising. Begin the processing timer only when the required pressure is reached. If pressure drops below the target at any point, restore it and restart the entire processing time.

At the end, turn off the heat and allow natural depressurisation. Never force cooling with water or venting. After full depressurisation, remove the weight or open the vent as directed, wait ten minutes and carefully open away from the face. Lift jars upright, then let them cool untouched for 12–24 hours; do not tighten the bands as they cool.

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Storage and later preparation

Check the seals after cooling. Refrigerate unsealed jars promptly for early use or follow an approved reprocessing procedure; a loose lid does not become safe through shelf storage. Remove bands from sealed jars, clean the jars, label and store cool, dry and out of light. A one-year rotation is the recommended best-quality target for home-canned foods.

Drain and puree the pumpkin after opening if a smooth preparation is wanted. That sequence retains the tested cube process without pretending its time also covers a thick puree. NCHFP withdrew older mashed-pumpkin directions following review; old printed instructions should not override current guidance.

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History

The selected method is published in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015.

Ingredients

Yield 9 US pint jars · Scaling: source batch only

Pumpkin
Amount not stated
Sound mature pumpkin with firm, non-stringy flesh, ideally a small culinary variety.
Water
Water.

Method

Risks and precautions · Elevated risk
Underprocessing a low-acid vegetable

Incorrect packing or processing can permit botulism.

Hazard source

Use cubes, hot pack and the exact jar-size/altitude schedule.

Control source

Use a pressure canner, not a boiling-water bath or small pressure saucepan. Do not can pumpkin purée using this schedule.

  1. Wash, remove the seed cavity, peel and cut the flesh into 2.5 cm (1-inch) cubes.
  2. Boil the cubes in water for two minutes.
  3. Pack hot cubes with their hot cooking water into hot jars, leaving 2.5 cm (1 inch) headspace. Do not mash or compress the contents into a solid mass.
  4. Remove trapped air, correct the liquid level while maintaining headspace, wipe the rims and apply lids as their manufacturer directs.
  5. Load the pressure canner according to its water-fill instructions. Vent a continuous stream of steam for 10 minutes before pressurising. Use the actual elevation and gauge type: dial gauge 11 psi at 0–2,000 feet, 12 psi at 2,001–4,000, 13 psi at 4,001–6,000, or 14 psi at 6,001–8,000 feet; weighted gauge 10 psi at 0–1,000 feet or 15 psi above 1,000 feet. The published dial table does not extend above 8,000 feet.
  6. When the required pressure is reached, start timing: 55 minutes for US pint jars or 90 minutes for US quart jars. Maintain that pressure continuously; if it drops below the target, restore it and restart the full processing time.
  7. Switch off the heat and let the canner depressurise naturally. Do not force cooling. After full depressurisation remove the weight or open the vent as directed, wait 10 minutes, and open the lid away from the face.
  8. Lift jars upright and cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours. Check seals, remove bands, label and store successfully sealed jars cool, dry and dark. Refrigerate unsealed jars promptly or follow an approved reprocessing procedure. Puree only after opening.

Conditions

Yield9 US pint jars
Temperature controlMulti-stage

Places

United States

Documented preparation · Country evidence

Association with the published household method, not a claim of invention.

See United Stateson the mapLocation source 1 →

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