Can You Eat White Pumpkins?

Fall is the perfect time to start incorporating pumpkin into your diet, per Food Network. Whether you are picking these lovely pumpkins fresh at a pumpkin patch or buying one in your grocery stores during the autumnal months, pumpkin can really add some flavor, texture, and depth to your recipes. That's right: Pumpkins are for more than carving up for Halloween night and decorating a front porch. This round-shaped squash that inspires visions of Cinderella's carriage is also a powerhouse of nutrition. Food Network goes on to reveal that a single cup of cooked pumpkin has no fat and adds just 50 calories to your daily calorie count. The flesh of the pumpkin is chock full of antioxidants, and if you are a fan of noshing on those seeds, you can get a little protein and omega-3 fats.

Epic Gardening shares that there are over 150 different types of pumpkins that come in an array of colors and can be used in all types of recipes. Most people are familiar with orange pumpkins and their uses — hello, homemade pumpkin pie – but have you ever wondered if you can cook with white pumpkins? The garden site explains that most people use white pumpkins to make ghosts for display. However, that's not all you can do with them.

As it turns out, Specialty Produce states there are some white pumpkins you can cook with. In fact, white pumpkins can be baked, roasted, and boiled. Use this squash in desserts like puddings and flans or in pasta or salads. The site goes on to share that flesh of a white pumpkin can be either white or yellow. Those white pumpkins that can be eaten tend to have a "tender texture" and a "mild, earthy flavor." The Kitchn explains this description of the taste is comparable to the orange variety. However, whether or not their flesh is worth cooking largely depends on their size and growing environment. If a white pumpkin winds up with "stringy flesh" and a lot of water, it may not be worth slicing up for use. 

Which white pumpkins can you eat? According to Epic Gardening, Baby Boo, Casper, Full Moon, Cotton Candy, Polar Bear, and Snowball white pumpkin varieties represent some of the ones that can be used for cooking and baking. Food Network notes cooked pumpkin can add some much-needed moisture to baked goods. How long will your pumpkin last? As long as it is not cut up, your pumpkins can exist anywhere from 1-3 months in a cool, dark place.