The Flavour Pumpkin

An explosion of Fall colours in the shops

Yes, thats right. It is officially pumpkin season over here. I am sure it is in part to make the Halloween last longer. There is stuff in the shops already, but it is bigger than I was expecting, even having expectations that it is big. What I didnt realise is that it is more than just one day of Halloween, it is actually the season of the Harvest. So there is stuff in the shops to decorate your house with all things orange. Squash, pumpkin, orange leaves....decorated cups, platters, towelling, decorations. Much like I associate with Christmas where some people have a whole alternate set of baubles and decor for the weeks before Christmas. This is the same, but orange and involves lots of pumpkins. And a spooky dress up day at the end of it all.

And pumpkin as a flavour, or a spice apparently. Just as we would expect strawberry, or other fruit flavours. Here it is pumpkin. For some nations it is food for the animals! For us Aussie/Kiwi's, we roast, soup and bake - but always savoury dishes. For North America, pumpkin is about pie, and sweet foods. In 2015 the Agriculture Department estimated pumpkin production for all uses (jack-o'-lanterns, fresh, processed food and seed) at 1.9 billion pounds (over 800 million tonnes). And pumpkin spice seems to be in everything at this time of year - tea, beer, pancakes, pies. I am trying pumpkin spiced chai. I know I like pie (thanks Kylie) and will be going in search of it. For the rest, we shall test and see. At this time of year America runs on pumpkin.