Tinned and Canned Pumpkin in the UK

does ANYONE know where I can find canned pumpkin?  HALP!

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If you enter and win my Tarot contest, you will get free cans of tinned pumpkin!

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I've found it at Lupe Pintos (import shop in Scotland) http://www.lupepintos.com/

They deliver...and it's a great place for Mexican and American stuff...including Marshmello Fluff and "proper" black olives...

Some Sainsbury shops sell it around halloween time

Rosslyn Deli in Hampstead has it:

http://www.delirosslyn.co.uk/

Selfridges has also been known to carry it.  Also found in Harrods, actually.

If you plan on having it for Thanksgiving though, I highly recommend you get it now.  Seems most places run out the week after Halloween and don't tend to restock until Christmas for some reason!

I had read that in some places this is hard to come by, so I brought 3 tins with me when I moved. And they are SO precious I can't bring myself to make anything with them...as then I'd not have any.

How silly is that.

waitrose usually has libbys canned pumpkin. i have bought it regularly there in london and at a small branch in kent. they do tend to run out in london at thanksgiving and christmas. stock up if you see it. same for cream style corn.

I had a pretty hard time trying to find canned pumpkin last year.  The Tesco near me doesn't stock it, and neither do Safeway or Morrisons or any other of the major groceries where I shop.  Tesco DID sell actual pumpkins though, so I took a chance and bought one and made a pie from scratch.  I burnt it slightly but it was still quite yummy.  When I visited a friend in Geneva we came across an American food shop that had everything we could possibly want for our Thanksgiving feast, including canned pumpkin!

The other day I accidentally came across some in a health food shop in Leeds called Out of This World.  You might want to check out any specialist food shops or health food shops in your area if you can't find it anywhere else.

Can I be so bold as to recommend cooking with fresh pumpkin?

As a result of not being able to find the tinned stuff, many years ago I resorted to cooking with the real thing.  It's not as convenient, but the taste is outstanding.

If you're interested, this is what I did:

I would peel fresh pumpkin and cut it into wedges.  Then I would drizzle vegetable oil on it, and place on a baking sheet.  Then roast in the oven at a moderate temperature.  Check periodically and turn until the pumpkin is tender.

Once it's cooked, puree in a food processor.  You can then use it in the same way as tinned.  I also went on to be very adventurous with it, for things such as pumpkin bread (like zucchini loaf), pumpkin filled ravioli or canneloni, and in vegetarian nut/bean loaves.  The possibilities are endless.   

Because one good sized pumpkin goes a long way, I would freeze what I didn't need for future use.

Good luck.

*sigh*....thank you everyone!  I guess I'll have to either try the real thing, although back in NJ I used those big huge bright orange squash like pumpkins, not the ones I buy over here for decoration...so I dunno!


I had to laugh @ Missy's comment; that'd be me...I'd buy a bunch and then never use them for fear of running out, argh!

I live up in the northeast of England, so our shops are Co-op, Kwiksave, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, and Iceland.....maybe I'll check again there, but doubt I'll be successful.  I may try that Scottish store Frances was talking about as well.  They do have some places on line, but the s&h is so expensive! 

Oh well, thank you everyone...I'll just keep trying and if I become brave enough, I'll do the real deal......but I really really really want my Libby's or whatever  :\\\'(

See Ya....have a great weekend! 

Last year my mom sent me a package with Libby's tinned pumpkin. It was supposed to arrive before Thanksgiving but arrived sometime late January (btw, it's kind of nice getting christmas gifts a month later). So I've been a good girl and kept the cans and now I'll have that for this Thanksgiving. Very excited.

waitrose usually has libbys canned pumpkin. i have bought it regularly there in london and at a small branch in kent. they do tend to run out in london at thanksgiving and christmas. stock up if you see it. same for cream style corn.

Yes, I saw Libby's at Waitrose as well as in a small branch in Kent hehe (Bromley)
Should be pretty easy to come by at this rate!

Maybe I should buy mine now, actually hehe

Also raising my hand about Waitrose - I saw it in my local Waitrose this morning. It isn't usually there - but must be close enough to the holidays for it to come out.

and "proper" black olives...