Best Pumpkins For Cooking

You can eat any variety of pumpkin. Varieties vary wildly in taste. Explore, enjoy and revel in the fact that a pumpkin is not just for Halloween. Whilst you can eat any variety of pumpkin or squash, if it tastes very bitter, stop eating.

How do I know which pumpkins are edible?

The truth is, all pumpkins are edible. It's just that the bigger carving varieties have lower sugar content, thin walls and stringy, sometimes watery flesh.

What pumpkins are good for pie?

11 of the Best Pie Pumpkins

• Baby Bear.
• Cinderella.
• Dickinson.
• Early Sweet Sugar Pie.
• Galeux d'Eysines.
• Jarrahdale.
• Musquee de Provence.
• Orange Smoothie.

Which pumpkin is not edible?

Pumpkins, as well as other varieties of squash (think winter squash), are edible. Gourds, on the other hand, are not edible. While pumpkin can be used for cooking and decorating, gourds are purely decorative.

Can you cook with supermarket pumpkins?

Pumpkins that are sold around Halloween are edible but they don't taste as good as the ones that are grown for eating. They tend to be watery and fibrous. You should be able to buy edible pumpkins as well as ones for carving from your local shop or supermarket.

Why are carving pumpkins not edible?

"Carving pumpkins have a woody texture and are stringier than pumpkins intended for eating," says Ilyse Schapiro MS, RD, CDN. So while they're edible, you'll get a better product (and one that is softer and more moist) by opting for a smaller heirloom pumpkin instead, like the sugar pumpkin.

Can you cook Halloween pumpkins?

Can you cook halloween pumpkins? 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.

Are store bought pumpkins edible?

While they can be eaten, the mass-produced Halloween pumpkins found at grocery stores are bred to be decorations and do not have good flavor or texture. To avoid waste, chop them up and put them in the compost after October 31st.

Can you use a jack-o-lantern pumpkin for pie?

However, you can still eat the jack-o-lantern variety with fairly good results. If you're buying a pumpkin specifically for eating, the smaller ones are usually the best. These sugar or pie pumpkins generally are sweeter, less stringy and have a deeper, richer color.

What is the best tasting pumpkin?

11 of the Best Pumpkin Cultivars to Grow for Cooking

1. Casper. You may not think of white pumpkins as something to eat instead of displaying them as unique decorations, but 'Casper' has delicious sweet flesh.
2. Cherokee Bush. ...
3. Cinderella. ...
4. Cushaw Green-Striped. ...
5. Dill's Atlantic Giant. ...
6. Fairytale. ...
7. Jarrahdale. ...
8. Musquee De Provence.

How do I choose a pumpkin for baking?

When selecting the perfect pumpkin, choose one with no soft spots. It should also be uniform in color, with no signs of mold or unusual discoloration. Also, pick a pumpkin that has its “handle,” or stem, intact.

Are decorative pumpkins OK to eat?

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.

Is there a poisonous pumpkin?

No, pumpkins aren't poisonous, and they're healthy and safe for people to eat. There are not any known side effects to eating pumpkin, so long as you're not allergic.

What type of pumpkin is used for Jack O lanterns?

Captain Jack Pumpkin Captain Jack is an extra-large, dark orange Jack O'Lantern-type pumpkin. Captain Jack is an extra-large variety boasts a classic tall, barrel shape. Its flat bottom allows it to easily stand on its own with toppling over. Captain Jack pumpkins are most common used for carving pumpkins.

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.

What pumpkins can you cook and eat?

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 pumpkin types are larger, have watery, stringy flesh, and are best for decorating.

What do stores 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.

Which pumpkins are best for soup?

“Pumpkin soup is best made with your good, old-fashioned varieties like butternut or Queensland blue — the harder pumpkins,” she says. “Soft fleshed pumpkins can make the soup a little watery. They are a different beast… from your standard greengrocer pumpkin.”

Can you eat large Halloween pumpkins?

Do We Waste A Lot Of Pumpkins We Could Be Eating? : The Salt Halloween pumpkins are nutritious and perfectly edible — if they haven't been carved and left outside for days. And yet we throw almost all of them away.

Can you use regular pumpkins to make pie?

Avoid ornamental varieties and large pumpkins, bred for size and looks, not flavor. Instead, choose those labeled as "pie pumpkins." They are small, dense, and rich in color, with sweet, full-flavored flesh.