The best pumpkins for juicing are easy to identify. They’re the same pumpkins you use to make pumpkin pie. Small pie pumpkins and sweet pumpkins are ideal for juicing because they contain less water than larger varieties. The more water a pumpkin contains, the less flavorful it will be.

Shopping for Pumpkins

When shopping for pumpkins, pay attention to their size, color and ripeness. Choose only small orange pumpkins with long stems and no soft spots. Pumpkins with stems shorter than 1 inch will not stay fresh as long as those with longer stems, and pumpkins with soft spots have already begun to rot. This is true of all pumpkins, regardless of where they’re grown. Since a pumpkin’s shape doesn’t affect its flavor, you don’t need to take this into account.

While the best pumpkins for juicing are small, their density should make them fairly weighty. This makes choosing the right juicer as important as choosing the right pumpkin. Be sure to choose a juicer that can handle dense pumpkins.