Making the most of your pumpkins!

Making the most of your pumpkins!

It’s great fun to make lanterns with your kids, but don’t forget to use up the inside of your pumpkins after carving your Jack O’ Lanterns. While we all love to carve and display these gorgeous gourds, not many of us think of them as food. There is often a glut of them on sale around Hallowe’en so make sure to use up all that lovely orange flesh and don’t let it go to waste.

Here are some ways you can get the most out of your pumpkin:

1. Buy a tasty pumpkin!

Many of the large pumpkins available in supermarkets at this time of the year are of varieties that have been bred to grow large for carving. While they are just as edible as any pumpkin, they may not be as tasty. Keep an eye out for smaller pumpkins. We can recommend the Crown Prince variety. It’s grown in Ireland and it’s especially delicious.

In terms of cooking, there are lots of things you can do with pumpkin, including a delicious and healthy pumpkin and ginger soup, a comforting pumpkin risotto, or simple roasted autumn vegetables to go with your Sunday roast. Plus, you can roast the seeds to add to salads or as a garnish for soup. For more on buying and storing pumpkins, head over to the A-Z of Foods pumpkin page.

 

2. Consider buying a ceramic pumpkin that you can use again every year

 

3. Try a turnip

Did you know that the original carving vegetable of choice was the turnip? The ‘ghost turnip’ pictured below is on display at the Museum of Country Life in Castlebar. Turnips were carved in celebration of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain which inspired Halloween. It is thought that when Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., the practice was continued using pumpkins instead of turnips.

Image: A ‘Ghost Turnip’ on display at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life

4. Pick a pumpkin

There are a number of pumpkin patches in Ireland and midterm is the perfect time to organise a visit to one where pumpkins are grown. Seeing pumpkins growing outside might inspire you to grow your own!

And remember, anything you don’t use can be composted. Just make sure to chop it up into small pieces and add some brown materials to your composter when adding the leftover pumpkin.