You sure can! Halloween pumpkins are just really big squash. While they may not be as sweet as a muscat or sugar pumpkin, they’re perfectly edible and I cook mine every year and use it to make homemade pumpkin purée, which I use in all kinds of recipes.
What can I do with my pumpkins from Halloween?
How to Reuse Carved Pumpkins
- Roast Pumpkin Seeds. To roast pumpkin seeds, separate them from the stringy guts and rinse well.
- Make Pumpkin Stock.
- Feed the Critters.
- Add it to Compost.
- Whip Up a Batch of Pumpkin Puree.
- Bake Pumpkin Bread.
- Make Pumpkin Soup.
- Eat Your Casserole Dish.
Can Halloween pumpkins be used for pie?
Pie pumpkins tend to have a sweeter, richer flavor than a carving pumpkin. Carving pumpkins will likely have a sort of bland, maybe a little bitter flavor. If you’ve got the option, always choose a pie pumpkin over a carving pumpkin for baking.
Can you use any pumpkin for cooking?
For cooking, you’ll want to use sugar pumpkins (also called pie or sweet pumpkins), which are small and round. Long Island Cheese pumpkins, which are more oblong and can look like a wheel of cheese, are also good to eat. Field types are larger; have watery, stringy flesh; and are best used for decorating.
Can you use decorative pumpkins for cooking?
You can absolutely cook pumpkin the way you would cook any other winter squash. The varieties that are bred primarily for decorative use and Jack-o-lanterns may not be quite as flavorful or might be a bit stringier than pumpkins bred specifically for pies and other culinary uses but they are all edible.
Why you shouldn’t throw away pumpkins?
According to the group, pumpkins disposed of in landfills create methane gas, which is a greenhouse emission that hurts the environment. And landfills are the third biggest source of methane in the United States.
Are all pumpkins edible?
Regarding the pumpkins in question: technically speaking all pumpkins (and gourds for that matter) are edible. However, you don’t want to eat them all. Like everything else culinary, generations of seed selection (and modification) have defined characteristics in fruits and vegetables for particular applications.
How do you know if a pumpkin is edible?
So, some uncertainty exist as to whether some are not edible. The answer is simple…. all varieties are edible. As soon as a pumpkin turns orange, people begin cooking pumpkins, and using them in every recipe they can find.
Can you use Halloween pumpkins for puree?
Ingredients. Avoid large Halloween carving pumpkins because their flesh is too fibrous for a soft puree.
Does it matter which pumpkin you use for pie?
Avoid ornamental varieties and large pumpkins, which are bred for size and looks not flavor. Instead, choose those labeled as “pie pumpkins.” They are small, dense, and rich in color, and they have sweet, full-flavor flesh.
Is there a difference between carving pumpkins and cooking pumpkins?
The Difference Between Pie Pumpkins and Carving Pumpkins
What’s the difference? Carving pumpkins are typically thinner and easier to saw into. They also have less guts on the inside, which are also grainier and stringier, making them easier to clean. Pie pumpkins, meant for baking, are usually smaller and more rounded.
Can you cook with grocery store pumpkins?
Most dishes can be made with fresh, frozen or canned pumpkin. Pumpkin is tasty in pies, muffins, cakes, breads, casseroles and soups. Pumpkin is a good substitute in any recipe that calls for butternut squash or other vegetables of the winter squash family.
Can you use regular pumpkins to bake with?
You won’t want to use the large carving pumpkins for baking; instead look for smaller pie pumpkins (also called sugar pumpkins) which are dense and darker in color. These are the types of pumpkins you want to use when making puree for Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bars, and Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.
Are small decorative pumpkins edible?
But it turns out that mini pumpkins are not just decoration—they’re edible! Read on for recipes, ideas and inspiration…
Can you eat novelty pumpkins?
Pumpkins which are sold around Halloween are edible but aren’t as tasty as the ones grown specifically for eating. Carving pumpkins tend to be watery and fibrous, you will be able to see the strands as you carve your pumpkin.
Can you use decorative pumpkins for pie?
Pie pumpkins are any one of several varieties of pumpkin grown for eating rather than decorative purposes. Generally, they are smaller and more dense than decorative pumpkins. Recipes calling for pumpkin may use canned or fresh varieties, but should never have decorative pumpkins used as a substitute.
What happens to unsold pumpkins after Halloween?
Of the 1.4 billion pounds of pumpkin produced in the U.S. each year, the vast majority wind up in landfills. This adds an immense amount of organic material into the landfill. Typically, in a landfill, pumpkins get buried and rot in an environment that lacks oxygen, which creates the potent greenhouse gas methane.
What do farmers do with unsold pumpkins?
It Starts In the Patches
In those cases, the excess pumpkins are typically donated to local zoos, given to a farm’s animals such as hungry pigs and eager cattle, or “disced” by farmers and used as natural fertilizer for the land.
Why do people put pumpkins in front of their house?
They often carved scary faces and placed the lanterns near doors in order to ward off evil spirits. This practice likely stemmed from the superstitions and strict religious practices of yesteryear. When the Irish, Scottish, and English immigrated to America, they brought along their lantern-making practices.
Are there toxic pumpkins?
Pumpkins, and other members of the squash family (marrows, courgettes, cucumbers, squashes etc.) can, if cross-fertilised with wild members of the family or with ornamental gourds, produce seeds which will grow into poisonous plants, giving rise to “toxic squash syndrome” if eaten.
Do pumpkins carry salmonella?
Is eating raw pumpkin safe? Eating raw foods may increase your risk of food poisoning. This is especially true with raw pumpkin seeds, which may harbor harmful bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli.