Don’t throw out that jack o’lantern

Millions of pumpkins are purchased each year for autumn decorations, with the majority carved and displayed at Halloween. After the holiday is over, most of those pumpkins go straight to the landfill. That’s a shame, says chef Mike Davies. He encourages us to use those pumpkins to make delicious meals, not only at Halloween but year-round.

Davies expands the pumpkin definition to include all types of squash, and notes that different varieties of pumpkins will have different textural and flavor attributes. The ones typically sold for decorations often have a dry texture so would work better in applications with a lot of liquid such as risotto or soup. Davies’ recent cookbook Cooking for People showcases his love of pumpkin and squash. He offers a few tips for cooks using these autumnal vegetables, saying that “It’s important to think of the role of pumpkin in the dish you’re planning; consider the structural integrity as well as the level of sweetness.” 

The EYB Library contains over 100,000 recipes that use pumpkin or squash including 23,000+ online recipes, so none of our Members should ever want for ways to use up any pumpkins they might have. Davies prefers to use pumpkins in savory applications, although he concedes that they also work well on the sweet side of the kitchen. “It absolutely can be done with great effect because of the intrinsic natural sweetness and happy pairing with sweet spices like cinnamon and nutmeg,” he says.