Pumpkins of all different shapes and sizes, from above. in a big pile

Pumpkin Carving: The Dark Side

Tis the season of harry potter, hot chocolate, and lugging pumpkins back from the supermarket to carve. Whilst pumpkin carving seems like a fun and harmless activity, like all things Halloween, there is a dark side. Research done by Hubbub found that 14.5 million pumpkins go to waste/landfill after October is over. That amount of waste could make every single person in the UK a bowl of soup! This blog post is a reminder that pumpkins aren’t just a decoration and can/should be used as food. Research showed that 47% of people still don’t know you can eat pumpkins. We want to celebrate how fun, versatile and eco-friendly eating your pumpkin can be.

Top tip: Even when pumpkins are labelled as ‘carving pumpkins’ in the supermarket they are still edible.

Don’t throw away any of your pumpkin:

Don’t throw away any part of your pumpkins. You can eat all of it, except the stalk, which you can compost!

A pumpkin cut in half with anotations around it. 
Stalk: Don't throw, compost.
Skin: Edible on smaller size pumpkins.
Guts: Blend up and cook +bake.
Flesh: The best bit! Use for pies, bakes, soups and curries.
Seeds: Roast them!

Recipes

Here are 5 super delicious pumpkin recipes you can make this autumn:

  1. Harry Potter inspired pasties

Make some magic this autumn by recreating these pumpkin pasties. We’ve always wanted to take a ride on the Hogwarts express, now we can feel like we have.

2. A cult classic soup

The ultimate pumpkin dish. Soup and autumn go hand in hand. A warming, and an easy lunch for when the days get shorter.

@mai.mtn

Warm your heart & soul with this creamy pumpkin soup recipe 🎃🍂 #easyrecipe #pumpkinsoup #fypシ

♬ original sound – Mai Nguyen

3. Spicy Thai curry

Impress you friends by cooking them this fiery dish next time you host. Full of spice, a hearty weeknight evening stable.

4. Autumn Muffins

For those with a sweet tooth, these jumbo muffins look delicious. Baking and autumn really do go hand in hand, check out our blog post on eco-friendly baking. For lots of tips and tricks to bake more sustainably.

5. Instagramable Gnocchi

Impress on date night with this BEAUTIFUL pumpkin gnocchi. The effort is worth it for the cute looking results.

@foodwithliz

pumpkin gnocchi with vegan brown butter parmesan sauce, fried sage, toasted pine nuts 🧡 the ultimate fall meal #pumpkinseason #hellofall #fallrecipes #easyrecipe

♬ Into the Unknown (feat. Jack Jones) – Over the Garden Wall & The Blasting Company

Clean up and wipe down your surfaces after cooking using our Antibacterial Surface Sprays. Now available in a pack of 3 for just £6!