pumpkin puree and canned problem

I had the exact same problem with watery pumpkin puree in the past. Then I tried putting the puree into a fine mesh strainer, setting the strainer over a bowl, and letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Voila, the next day the puree would be thick and dense, just like the canned type. Good luck!

N Jo

First thanks for your help.
Yeah I usually use butternut squash and orange

What you can do before you use the puree in baked goods is squeeze out the extra moisture. America's Test Kitchen spreads pumpkin puree onto paper towels and then squeezes or pats out the moisture. It may sound difficult and messy but it's quite easy. The puree will almost peel off of the paper towel. If you can use a clean/pristine kitchen towel and do the same.

If they are available in you area, get a sugar pumpkin or a pie pumpkin. They are small and would yield about 2-2 1/2 cups or so of puree. I second the advice re: roasting. I usually do two or three at a time - cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast them on a parchment-lined baking sheet (with a rim) at 400 for 30-40 minutes. They are done when a fork pierces them easily. You can mash them or puree them with a food processor and stick whatever you're not using right away in the freezer. I never use canned and I always get good results from a sugar pumpkin :) Good luck!

Do you know what kind of squash you're using? Water content can vary a lot by type of winter squash. I've done winter squash puree at home, and there have been times when it turned out a watery mess because it was a watery squash. I've had consistent success with dense, sweet varieties of winter squash such as Kobocha and Buttercup. Varieties that have not worked for me are pumpkins and Red Kuri squash (even though this one is supposed to be very similar to Kobacha).

Even though everything this time of year is pumpkin flavored, a lot of canned "pumpkin" is actually a mix of winter squashes, at least in the US. The iconic big, orange pumpkins are actually one of my least favorite to bake with. Apart from being watery, I find their sweetness and texture is very inconsistent as well.

If you still have your watery puree and don't feel like spending more time trying to thicken it for baking, cooking with pumpkin puree is much more forgiving. I bet your puree would be great in soups, chilis, curries, etc.

How do you cook your pumpkin? In general, halving or cubing the pumpkin, roast it in the oven, then mashing/pureeing yield a consistency closer to canned pumpkin than boiling/steaming. If the consistency after pureeing is too watery, spread the puree in cookie pan then bake it on low temperature until it become drier.

The watery results could be coming from the pumpkins in your area or your cooking method or both.
There are a bunch of reliable cooking methods and recipes for preparing pumpkin puree in the attached search...allrecipes, Alton Brown, Pioneer Woman, etc.
Most have include baking pieces at 400f (just over 200C) for about an hour, then pureeing.
If you are doing something similar, try cooking a bit longer and/or draining after pureeing and before baking.
Hope these suggestions help.