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Oh My Gourd, Don't Toss That Pumpkin

Writer's picture: Jordan MiniJordan Mini

hot cocoa on a tray with leaves and a book next to a flannel
A Cozy Fall Day

I love fall in Maine. The temperatures are chilly enough for a cozy sweater or sweatshirt, but not so cold you need to be pulling out your mittens. The colors painting the trees are warm and inviting like the summer sun despite the crisp air reminding you that winter is on its way. As a generally indecisive person I think its just the happiest middle ground of all the seasons. Like spring, it has its own selection of sprouting produce and floral greenery too. once of my favorites being pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors.


orange and white pumpkins lined up on a stone wall above a pile of larger orange pumpkins
Pumpkins Galore

The National Agricultural Statistics Service recorded more than 2 billion pumpkins were produced in 2020 which is an insane amount of pumpkin. In 2020 the United States Census Bureau reported our population at 329.5 million people which means there were so many pumpkins grown that each person could have had at least 6 pumpkins. On average one pumpkin weighs 10-20 pounds so that's between 60-120 pounds

of pumpkin per person!!!


Pumpkins can be used a few different ways. During Fall they are often used for decorative purposes then as Halloween approaches we carve them and then they rot on the steps or get tossed. When carving a pumpkin you have the seeds, guts, and meat. The seeds can be roasted for a yummy and nutritious snack or dried and stored to grow for next season! If you wanted you could even dry them and make a DIY musical instrument with your kiddos. The stringy guts can actually also be roasted, or puréed and added to a meal like a hearty soup or even a seasonal hummus. The meat of the pumpkin can also be turned into many of different dishes. If you don't plan on using it soon, you can can it or freeze it for later. Did you know that many animals can eat pumpkin as well? I know my past pupper, Charlie, loved a dollop of pumpkin in his meals. The seeds have actually been used as natural anti-parasitic for quite some time.


chopped pumpkin dish
Look at all
pumpkin pie
You can Make!
pumpkin soup
the Meals

Here at Spriggits we use the entirety of the pumpkin well, as long as you can excuse the stem - that gets composted. The seeds are either saves or roasted and the innards are roasted, puréed and either cooked with or saved to use as an ingredient in our pumpkin spice soap! We pride ourselves in using natural colorants for our pumpkin spice soaps and while most plant based colors dissipate overtime the pumpkin does not. We don't just add the pumpkin for the color. It actually has some great benefits for the skin! Kim Chang, an aesthetician with Baylor College of Medicine, states "Pumpkin has natural enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids that remove dead skin cells on the surface. It also contains vitamins A and C, which are great for the skin."


Sadly, millions of pumpkins never get their day to shine after being deemed unusable and end up beating millions more on their way to landfills which as we learned when we discussed both food waste and composting, contributes to greenhouse gases. We can't ease production without being in charge but we can ensure the pumpkins we do grow & purchase ourselves get used. I hope you learned some interesting ways to make use of a commonly wasted Fall produce and that you will share it with your friends.


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