How to Buy, Store, and Cook Pumpkin, In Season in November
Fall's favorite gourd isn't just for jack-o-lanterns. Sure, it's fun to carve Drake's profile into the side of a pumpkin, but post-Halloween, you have to find something else to do with the big orange fruit. While most people cook with pumpkin purée (which is something we definitely support, especially for pumpkin pie—you'd never get the same smooth texture or flavor if you puréed a pumpkin yourself), whole pumpkins, with their sweet, bright-orange flesh, are great for roasting, steaming, and even grilling. And—surprise!—pumpkin is in season now, so there's no better time to cook it. We rounded up 11 of our favorite pumpkin recipes (using both fresh and canned purée) for inspiration, and as well as tips on buying and storing the season's most iconic edible.
And if you insist on carving, pumpkins make great vessels for serving dishes like soups, stews, and risotto—just scrape out the pulp and pour your masterpiece in.
How to buy
The pumpkins you buy to carve at Halloween are watery and mealy—i.e., best suited for decoration or festive containers for soups or stews. Sugar pumpkins, on the other hand, are smaller, with a bright-orange skin and thick flesh that has much more flavor. Choose small sugar or pie pumpkins that feel heavy for their size. Avoid pumpkins with cracks or blemishes. For pumpkin desserts, it is much easier—and will produce a more consistent product—to use canned, puréed pumpkin that you can purchase at the grocery store.
How to store
Store pumpkins at room temperature for up to a month.
