October heralds the beginning of pumpkin season. Over the course of the month, they will be used for a variety of non-culinary purposes. In Belgium, they are hollowed out for boat races, and in Ludwigsburg, Germany, thousands of multi-coloured pumpkins are used to make seasonal sculpture parks. At the end of the month, they will be carved up with a ghoulish grin to celebrate Halloween, a tradition that is becoming increasingly popular across the globe.
Despite being harvested until December, for many, Halloween will mark the end of pumpkin season with the decorations unceremoniously binned. Studies show that just over half of the pumpkins bought in the UK each year (18,000 tonnes of them) go to waste uneaten. Many people don’t even realise that pumpkins are edible.
