Pumpkins mean autumn!

The main colors of the large range of pumpkin varieties are orange, yellow and green. An especially popular variety is the Hokkaido, an edible pumpkin that can be consumed without peeling. Many other pumpkin varieties have to be peeled before cooking and eating, because their outer skin is very dense. The butternut squash, spaghetti squash, the pattypan squash and muscat pumpkins are other well-known varieties in addition to the Hokkaido pumpkin. However, if you take the number of decorative pumpkins into account too, the number of varieties is almost uncountable. The typical Halloween pumpkin, the turban squash and the colorful mix of smaller ornamental gourds are the best-known varieties.

For years pumpkins were only used in soup and as pickles, nowadays the possibilities with pumpkins seem almost unlimited. Jam, bread, cakes and pies, mashed with potatoes and fish, gnocchi, in the microwave or sliced and fried are just a few examples. Due to the mild taste pumpkins can be combined with a wide range of spices and herbs and used in nearly every cuisine.

When kept cool and dry pumpkins can be stored for a long period of time. However the pumpkins should be ripened completely, recognizable by the brown discoloration and dried stem. If the pumpkin is larger than the recipe requires, the surplus can be cut in cubes and frozen. The frozen pumpkins can be used, just like fresh pumpkin, in soups, mash, and jam. 

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