Another feature of the pumpkin festival is the pumpkin carving aspect. Many people shop around for the perfect pumpkin to use for their festival creation. The designs work best on a pumpkin that is just the right size and shape for it.

Several categories exist in the contest. This heightens the competition since there can be more than one winner in more than one category. Some have created entire scenes on the face of a pumpkin.

The days of friendly snaggle-toothed faces on the front of the pumpkin are long gone in competition. The bar has been raised to include flaming pumpkins, gross looking pumpkins, pumpkins that resemble human faces, and elaborate pumpkin artistic scenes.

Besides the carving and the weighing is the eating. Pumpkin pie contests are another big attraction. Who can come up with the best pumpkin pie recipe? Afterwards, it’s time to eat and get stuffed just like one of those huge pumpkins.

Where are the pumpkin festivals in your area? Look it up on the web or the city’s website under “Events.” There is bound to be one close to attend with the entire family.

One highlight of autumn is pumpkin festivals. Pumpkin growers have nurtured those seedlings through to full growth from spring until fall. If you like to attend festivals, visit a pumpkin festival in your town or nearby.

Pumpkin growers who attend festivals use the growing season to find a winning specimen from the rows and rows of orange beauties. Careful watering, fungicides, fertilizers, and debugging, all work together to grow large pumpkins.

One part of the pumpkin festival is the weigh-off. This is when contestants enter their prized unblemished pumpkins in a contest to see who has grown the heaviest pumpkin for that year. Many growers live for the weigh-off.

Depending on the pumpkin variety you are growing, some grow larger than others. Super large pumpkins can grow to be over 150 pounds each. That is a big pumpkin. I struggle with carrying a ten pounder out of the patch for decoration.

Pumpkin weigh-offs occur all across the country in every state. Depending on the state, they are held between September and November each year. Most weigh-offs center around pumpkin or fall festivals. The heaviest pumpkin gets to hold the title and the ribbon for an entire year. Now, the pumpkin may not survive that long, but the ribbon will look great on the mantle attached to a picture of the winning squash.

Now let’s go inside the pumpkin. When the top is carved out, it becomes the lid. After a candle is inserted, the lid is replaced to harness the light.

What’s inside the pumpkin? Well, if the sides are the face, then the gooey stuff inside could be thought of as the brains. The stringy strands are removed from the inside along with the pumpkin seeds that are meshed in with them.

The strands are not thrown away just yet. When the carving is done, the seeds are separated from the strands and roasted. The open area is now a cavity.

The skin is the colored side of the pumpkin. The skin covers the rind and the “meat” of the pumpkin. Most pumpkin skins are orange but can be other colors.

The pulp is the “meat” of the pumpkin that we eat in recipes. It can be eaten raw or used as an ingredient. Now, that we’ve dissected the pumpkin, it is time to put him back together and create a Jack o’ Lantern or holiday centerpiece.

I would recognize a pumpkin when I saw it. It is a squash that resembles a gourd, but it is bigger than most of the gourds we know. If you want to grow pumpkins or get to know them a little better, here are some terms to become familiar with.

The pumpkin has been studied and here are the findings. We already know that it is a nutritious fruit to eat. Loaded with antioxidants like beta carotene, pumpkin can stop the damaging effects of aging on our bodies.

But, what do we call all of the parts of a pumpkin? Here is an anatomy lesson. Pumpkins have a top and a bottom. The top is where the stem is and the bottom is the flat area on which the pumpkin sits. The sides are called the “face” of the pumpkin.

The stem is found on the top of the pumpkin. It is an umbilical cord of sorts that is used to feed the pumpkin from seed to full “pumpkinhood” when the link is severed. Holding a pumpkin by the stem can cause it to break off.

Some pumpkins in the patch have curly green “hair” around the leaves and the stem. It is not a fashion statement, but tendrils. Unlike jungle tendrils that grab you and cause a fright, these tendrils wind around vines to hold immature pumpkins in place.

Pumpkins are not flat but bumpy. These bumps are called ribs. The ribs give the pumpkin form and character.

Pumpkin bars remind some of pumpkin bread but they are denser than the bread. Pumpkin bars are topped with icing. They make sweet treats for kids after supper instead of cake and ice cream.

Any recipe that calls for sweet potatoes can be readjusted to accommodate pumpkin. Cookies, cakes, bars, pies, and muffins are a hint sweeter when pumpkin is added. Pumpkin fans can go all out for the holidays with a pinch of pumpkin added to the recipe.

Pumpkin can also be sliced up and used in stir fry recipes with other gourds like zucchini and squash. Served over rice or as a side dish for meats, guests will be eating pumpkin and won’t even know it.

The pumpkin in your recipe doesn’t have to be the main ingredient. A hollowed out pumpkin can be used much like a bread bowl. It can hold stews, soups, and chili that contain pumpkin, or not. The outer rind will stand up to the temperature and may even cook any remnants of pumpkin inside and add to the flavor.

What are you doing with those pumpkins this year? Add them to your favorite recipe and taste the difference.

The fall of the year brings cooler weather and shorter days. It also brings the harvest of pumpkins. We usually only think of the colossal orange wonders during September through November, but a good pumpkin parent can keep them alive and edible for much longer.

Pumpkins are not only good for carving and scaring the neighborhood folks on Halloween but also for eating. Pumpkins are featured in many recipes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season but it is a wholesome addition to meals all year round. If you can’t find fresh pumpkin, canned will work just fine.

Pumpkin has found the greatest popularity in desserts. What would Thanksgiving be like without pumpkin pie? Those who aren’t used to working with fresh pumpkin make pie filling with canned since all of the strings and seeds are already removed.

Pumpkin pie filling can be used for mini tarts at a holiday gathering or a church function. The filling can also be cooked in small ramekin dishes and topped with whipped cream for a crustless treat.

Don’t limit your pumpkin to pies, though. Pumpkin bread tastes nothing like pumpkin for those who are like me and haven’t particularly taken a shine to pumpkin pie. The more pumpkin added to the recipe, the moister the bread will be. Serve with butter or a dollop of cream alongside a cup of coffee or hot cocoa.