Pumpkin, raw

Raw pumpkin flesh is dense and starchy, and it transforms once roasted or simmered into pumpkin soup, pie filling, risotto, and curries, where its natural sweetness balances savory spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and cumin. Roasting concentrates its flavor and caramelizes the natural sugars at the cut edges, while pureed cooked pumpkin also works as a thickener for soups, sauces, and baked goods like muffins and bread. The seeds, scooped out before cooking, are commonly toasted separately and salted as a snack, and the skin can be left on smaller pieces destined for the oven since it softens as it roasts, and cubes tossed with oil and warm spices make a simple sheet-pan side alongside other root vegetables.

A whole pumpkin should feel heavy for its size with a hard rind free of soft spots, and it will keep for weeks to months in a cool, dry spot if left uncut. Once cut into cubes, wrap tightly and refrigerate, and use within a few days since the moist flesh spoils faster than the intact fruit. At just 26 calories per 100 grams, raw pumpkin is a low-calorie base for soups and stews, and it supplies 47% of the daily value for vitamin A along with 10% for vitamin C.