Pumpkin recovery

After Halloween, there are lots of leftover pumpkins, most of which unfortunately go to waste. This page is about what could be done instead.

Food ideas

First, turn the pumpkin into a puree  0. Note: If there's any surface damage on the pumpkin (dirt patches or mold), cut it out or scrape it off.  1. Separate out the seeds (to be used in other recipes)   ~ The puree can include the inner pulp if it's good (but note: pulp often goes bad before the rest of the pumpkin does)  2. Chop up the pumpkin, enough for it to fit in a pot  3. Put the pumpkin pieces into a pot, and add enough water to cover it   ~ If you don't have a large enough pot, you can use multiple small pots  4. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 to 30 minutes  5. Optional: Add spices and a few tablespoons of oil   ~ Spices could include anything with a sweet aroma: For example: Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, anise, cardamom or nutmeg. No need to add all of them - just use whatever's available.   ~ The oil helps your body absorb the vitamin A from the pumpkin. It also will make the puree slightly more creamy and less foamy.  6. Use a blender (handheld immersion blender is fine) to blend everything into a fine puree.   ~ Yes, this includes even the pumpkin skins, which should disintegrate nicely if the pumpkin is properly cooked. , then use that in recipes such as:

• Pumpkin pie 💬 discussion Is the above puree suitable for this or would it be too watery?
• Breads, muffins or cakes (add some to the dough or the batter)
• Pumpkin pudding
• Pumpkin spice latteMix the pumpkin puree with any combination of ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, and/or cardamom. Then add it to coffee (a few teaspoons of pumpkin puree per cup of coffee). P.S. You can also make a nice unprocessed soy latte, by adding some soybean puree as a milk replacement.
• Savory pumpkin soup

You can also roast the pumpkin seeds, or make pumpkin seed milk.

Collective actions ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿

Pumpkin drive

Main idea:

1. Have a local place in the neighborhood for everyone to put their unwanted pumpkins.
2. Organize a soup kitchen where the pumpkins are turned into food, and served to people.

Implementation discussions

• What places are suitable for this? (community centers, etc.)
• How to efficiently process a lot of pumpkins? (also, are carved pumpkins usable at this scale?)
• Rich neighborhoods have a lot of pumpkins. Poor neighborhoods have a lot of people who need food. How to connect the two?

Local group discussions

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More discussions

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See also

• Stop food waste