Where To Get Pumpkins and What To Do With Pumpkins
Pumpkin farms, pumpkin festivals, and pumpkins from the lovely garden in the backyard all usually have one thing in common – too many choices as to which pumpkin is the biggest, the best, just the right size, the best pumpkin for color, or the color. I learned this fact of life first hand, a number of years ago, when our pumpkin crop was puny. I made the mistake of sending my husband and five kids to get some pumpkins for pumpkin carving at a local pumpkin festival.
While I blissfully enjoyed a rare quiet afternoon, the great pumpkin debate and kid squabbles that broke out resulted in my husband deciding the only fair thing to do with too many choices in the pumpkin patch -- was to buy each of those five children ten pumpkins each. Looking back, I am real sure in his mind, excess pumpkins translated into lots of pumpkin pies. Only when you have had fifty pumpkins sit upon your kitchen table can you get the real picture of why the original failed pumpkin crop wasn’t such a tragedy.
Pumpkin farms - Sarah Crowder Photography 2012©
Now, any serious gardener knows that bumper crops and excess fruits and vegetables are both an exciting and labor intensive challenge as to preventing waste of crop. That situation is a bonus to fruit and vegetable gardening. It has also been my womanly experience that men and children are all overly fond of labor intensive crops. Those are the foods that taste the best, while simultaneously being the messiest of garden food products to deal with. I’ve additionally noticed that most of the labor falls squarely upon the shoulders of the Queen of the Kitchen. That’s a lot of slimy pumpkin seeds and pumpkin flesh to contend with. So what do you do with all that pumpkin?
What To Do With Excess Pumpkins - Sara Crowder Photography 2012©
List of Top Things to Do With Excess Pumpkins
First of all, you need to know that most of the pumpkins that are sold at pumpkin farms and festivals for carving and decoration are not the best tasting pumpkins, or the best for cooking varieties. Those pumpkins tend to be a little on the runny side, which makes sense because like watermelons, pumpkins (and squashes) are ninety percent water. So, if you are using ordinary ever popular varieties of pumpkins, you’ll need to allow for this factor. The second most important thing you should know about pumpkins is that the fruit can be pureed and frozen in zip lock bags or containers, so you can have pumpkin for months to come.
Pumpkins Seeds
- Bar B Que Pumpkin Seeds
- Old Bay Pumpkin Seeds
- Pumpkin Seed Arts & Crafts for Kids
- Pumpkin Seed Brittle
- Pumpkin Seed Chocolate Bark
- Pumpkin Seed Jewelry
- Pumpkin Seed Salad
What To Do With Left Over Pumpkins - Pumpkin Seed Jewelry
Pumpkin Fruit
In the United States, from mid-September through October eighty percent of all pumpkins are sold for the entire year. The flesh of the pumpkin can be easily pureed and frozen in containers or freezer bags for a variety of the uses listed below:
- Pumpkin Beverages
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Butter
- Pumpkin Cakes
- Pumpkin Cheese Cake
- Pumpkin Cookie
- Pumpkin Curry
- Pumpkin Dip
- Pumpkin Flan
- Pumpkin Fritters
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Nog
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Stew
Decorating with Pumpkins
Where To Get Pumpkins
Just about every state and every community within each state has their own pumpkin related festivals and pumpkin patches going on. There are even pumpkin chunkin contests, pumpkin boat races or regattas, giant pumpkin contests, decorating contests, and the like. There is no lack of places to get a pumpkin, as anything pumpkin related is a great fall fund raiser. Some of the most popular pumpkin events are to be found with local churches. Among the top pumpkin events each fall are: