Instructions: Autumn is here, and with it comes a pumpkin bonanza! Big pumpkins, small pumpkins, nubby pumpkins, white pumpkins, stringy pumpkins... With all these compelling choices, which kind should you use in baking?

The answer is the sugar or pie pumpkin. The jack-o-lantern pumpkins you see everywhere this time of year tend to be too large and stringy for baking. But the sugar pumpkin, now theres a pumpkin to sink your teeth into. Small and sweet, with dark orange colored flesh, its perfect for pies, soups, side dishes, cookies, and, most of all, breads. Nothing makes pumpkin bread taste better than fresh pumpkin.

There are three ways to transform an uncooked pumpkin into the puree used in baking. A medium-sized (4 pounds) sugar pumpkin should yield around 1 1/2 cups of mashed pumpkin. This puree can be used in all your recipes calling for canned pumpkin. Following are some step-by-step suggestions for cooking your pumpkin.

Baking Method

Cut the pumpkin in half and discard the stem section and stringy insides.

Save the seeds to dry and roast; they make a tasty snack. In a shallow baking dish place the two halves face down and cover with foil. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for about 1 1/2 hours for a medium-sized sugar pumpkin. Once the baked pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher or potato ricer.

Boiling Method

Cut the pumpkin in half, discarding the stringy insides. Then peel and cut the pumpkin into chunks. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the pumpkin chunks are tender. Let the chunks cool, and then puree the flesh in a food processor or mash.

Microwave Method

Cut the pumpkin in half, discarding the stringy insides. Microwave on high for seven minutes per pound.

You can refrigerate your fresh pumpkin puree for up to three days and store it in the freezer up to six months, enabling you to enjoy the great taste of fall pumpkins for months to come.

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