It's almost that time of year again: Halloween is on the night of October 31st to November 1st. From the USA, the custom of decorating the house and garden with pumpkins, giving children candy at the door, and "celebrating" the spooky night with appropriate films has spread to Europe.
Where does Halloween come from?
The English name is a shortened form of "All Hallows Eve" – meaning the evening before All Saints' Day. The origins of the festival, however, go back much further, as the Catholic Church simply adopted the existing "Samhain Festival" of the Celts. On Samhain night, it was believed that the gates between the world of the living and the dead were open. It also celebrated the transition from the fertile summer to the restful winter months. This widespread festival was already held hundreds of years before Christ – in the British Isles, but also on the European mainland. So, Halloween is simply coming "home" now that we are "celebrating" it again in Europe.
Pumpkin is a must
No Halloween is complete without pumpkins – these vibrant autumn vegetables can be wonderfully transformed into lanterns with spooky faces. This was already done in Ireland and is now a staple of the holiday in the USA. Of course, the rest of the decorations are coordinated with the orange and rust-red of the pumpkins and complemented with a touch of traditional black to ensure a pleasant chill.
Pumpkins can be hollowed out and then carved with faces. And the insides can be used to make many delicious autumnal dishes.
How to decorate pumpkins
To have as much freedom as possible when carving the pumpkin, it should be a good size – and ripe enough. Just like with melons, you can determine ripeness by gently tapping it. If it sounds hollow, the pumpkin is ripe and ready to carve. Before carving, you should use a felt-tip pen to trace the outlines you want to cut out onto the pumpkin. Then you can cut off the base of the stem and remove the inside. Using a narrow knife blade, you can now cut out the shapes of the pumpkin face and then carefully press them out from the inside out. You can "incorporate" the lighting either with LED lights or with a candle. However, candles or tea lights are better placed in a mason jar for safety reasons and to prevent the wind from blowing them out. In our blog, you'll also find wonderful Halloween costumes that you can make yourself.
Conjure up treats from pumpkin flesh
The beauty of pumpkin is its delicate flavor—but at the same time, it's very subtle. This makes it ideal for preparing it in so many different ways. Pumpkin can be used to create both savory and spicy dishes and sweet treats. This colorful vegetable pairs wonderfully with goat cheese, but also with honey, and can be perfectly rounded off with more unusual ingredients like ginger or allspice.
The following recipes are particularly delicious:
- Sweet and sour pumpkin chutney
- Pumpkin jam
- Pumpkin pie in puff pastry with goat cheese
- Ravioli with pumpkin filling
- Pumpkin soup
These are just a few examples of the variety of possibilities this versatile vegetable offers. You can find more great vegetarian dishes, like the spooky cucumber snake, on ourblog . And since you can also buy pre-carved pumpkins, those who don't want to decorate for Halloween don't have to miss out on pumpkins. Smaller varieties, especially the popular Hokkaido, are also great for single households.
The idea of using everything on a pumpkin isn't new, by the way – appropriately shaped pumpkins have been and are used worldwide as drinking vessels. This includes varieties whose insides aren't necessarily tasty, but which are cultivated for their durable shells – the so-called calabashes. This large vegetable is therefore very sustainable and has been a staple of humankind for quite some time – and not just at Halloween.
