Knowing what pumpkin you should use for cooking, baking, painting, carving and decorating will make the season a lot more enjoyable. Pies will taste better, carving will be easier and your home will look more festive.
Not all pumpkins are created equal. There are several varieties of pumpkins, some are grown specifically for carving, while others are grown for their shapes, sizes, tastes and textures. It’s a good idea to know ahead of time what you’ll be using your pumpkin for so that you choose one that is just right.
Will you be using the pumpkin to cook up something amazing? Will you be painting it? Carving it? or just creating and amazing display with it? These are the questions you should ask yourself before you head out to the pumpkin patch.
Once you know what you are going to use it for, you’ll want to know what type of pumpkin will be best. Since there are so many different varieties, I’ve put together a list of suggestions for some of the more popular varieties and a few of my favorites.
Purchasing Pumpkins with a Purpose
For Baking
I’ve always used Sugar Pie pumpkins for my pumpkin pies, just because they are easy to find and they have a lovely flavor. However, Epicurious suggests using Cheese, Jarrahdale or Blue Hubbard pumpkins, they say that the texture is silky smooth and they have a really nice sweet flavor.
For Cooking
I like to use a Buttercup pumpkin for roasting and in soup because it has a nice buttery texture which is perfect in these types of recipes. However, BestRecipes.com suggests using a Queensland Blue, Jap, Butternut or Golden Nugget pumpkin because they have a sweet, nutty flavor which adds a delicious layer of flavor to any dish.
For Painting
When it comes to painting a pumpkin you want to look for one that is smooth and blemish free. Orange Smoothie, Cotton Candy and Lumina pumpkins are the perfect canvas for displaying your artistic talents on.
For Carving
When it comes to carving you want to look for pumpkins that are blemish free and are light colored. Lighter colored pumpkins are softer and much easier to carve. The perfect pumpkins for carving are the Jack-O-lantern, Lumina, Hobbit, Autumn gold, Gold Rush, and Wolf pumpkins.
For Displaying
There are so many different types, colors, sizes and shapes of pumpkins out there, so the sky’s the limit when it comes to decorating with them. A couple of my favorite pumpkins to decorate with are Magic Lanterns and Cinderella pumpkins.
What is your favorite kind of pumpkin? We’d love to see how you use it. Snap a pic & tag it on Instagram with @FlusterBuster #perfectpumpkin
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a commission. I only recommend products or services that I personally believe will add value to my readers. All opinions stated are strictly my own. Read our full disclosure policy for more information.
originally posted 9/14/2018 – updated pictures
Knowing what pumpkin you should use for cooking, baking, painting, carving and decorating will make the season a lot more enjoyable. Pies will taste better, carving will be easier and your home will look more festive.
Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. We usually ask that all posts have recipes in them, but there is such great info here!! I’m glad you shared it.
I was a little unsure whether I should share it or not, but obviously I chose to share it. I thought that there was some good information for those wanting to use pumpkin in their recipes.
Thank you so much for sharing your tips with us at #MMBH. Pinning your post to our board. 🙂
Thanks for the pin and for the great party!
Hi.Robin, Thanks for sharing all the information on choosing a pumpkin with the folks at Firsts Friday. I have made pumpkin pie form scratch and it does taste really better than from a can.
Thanks for the information on choosing pumpkins for the Fiesta Friday folks. I have made pumpkin pie from scratch and does taste much better to me.
Thank you for the useful information and for sharing at Sew It Cook It Craft It Link Party.
You have some outstanding pumpkins here and a great post! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and have a great week!
Miz Helen
Love the air freshener tip!!!
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #WWBlogHop this week. Visit me at Marilyns Treats on Tuesday evening to see your feature! All hosts choose their own features from the comments left on their blog so be sure to stop by and see your feaure. I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please be sure to leave your link number or post title so we can be sure to visit!
Thanks so much for the feature, I will definitely be back!
I just love pumpkin season! Thanks for sharing this post at the Friday Frenzy!
Great explanation! I didn’t know all those details. Pinning for later!
Thanks for sharing your tips with us at the Snickerdoodle Party last week, Robin. I will be featuring you this weekend!
Thank you Marie!
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!
Thank you so much!