It’s the time of year when pumpkins and seasonal squashes become widely available, tempting you to pick one up and take it home to your kitchen.

There are many different types of seasonal squash (read out article "Know your Squash"); pumpkins are part of the winter squash family and we love them for their versatility and flavour.

But did you know that each year over a quarter of all pumpkins produced are thrown away or put into the food waste? So we have a little mini challenge for you! Choose a pumpkin or winter squash to take home, then challenge yourself to #CookEveryPart of it.

  • Health benefits of pumpkins
  • Can you eat the whole pumpkin?
  • How to prepare your pumpkin

Health benefits of pumpkins

Image by @rachel

Pumpkins are low in calories and fat, but rich in vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. They get their beautiful orange colour from beta carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A to help boost your immune system. Add that to a pumpkin’s high levels of vitamin C and you’ve got a great veggie to prime your body ready to face the winter’s colds and other seasonal bugs.

Can you eat the whole pumpkin?

When it’s cooked, the entire pumpkin is edible so with some simple tips and great pumpkin recipes, you can cook it all and eat from skin to seed, reducing food waste and getting maximum nutrients and fiber too!

How to prepare your pumpkin

Start by giving your pumpkin a really good scrub with a firm brush - this is particularly important if your pumpkin isn’t organic. Hold the pumpkin firmly on a chopping board and use a large sharp knife to cut the pumpkin in half from the tip to the base.

USE THE PUMPKIN SEEDS & STRINGS

Scoop out the seeds and strings, you can use your fingers to separate the seeds out from the strings - this is sometimes easier done in a bowl of water.

Fried pumpkin seeds by @Oliveoilsspain 

USE THE PUMPKIN FLESH

Roasted pumpkin croquetas by Sam

Now you have two scooped out pumpkin halves. You can drizzle these with oil, herbs such as rosemary and aromatics like chilli then bake them in the oven.

Or, use a sharp knife to peel the skin from the flesh. Set the skin aside to use in the next step. Cut the flesh into chunks. Now you can:

Make pumpkin puree - for use in sweet and savoury pumpkin pie recipes, to make syrup for pumpkin lattes, batter for pancake waffles. You could also use the flesh to make:

USE THE PUMPKIN SKINS
Some types of squash, including pumpkin, have a softer skin that is edible in most cases.

Use the pumpkin flesh with the skin left intact to make:

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