One of the oldest Halloween traditions is carving out a pumpkin, but it is all down to picking the perfect one – and now one supermarket has been crowned the cheapest
With Halloween just around the corner, people will be gearing up ready to decorate their homes – and here’s where you can bag a bargain with the cheapest pumpkins.
Part of the Halloween fun is carving out your best designs into a pumpkin. Whether you get competitive over who can create the scariest look, or you simply do it to get in on the fun, sourcing the best pumpkin can be tricky.
With so many different shapes and sizes to choose from, picking the perfect one is important, and Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket to pick your pumpkin from.
Decorating your front doorstep has become cheaper than ever, with a whole range of pumpkins of different sizes to choose from. Whether you go for an extra large or a munchkin size, prices start from just 48p.
If you want to go supersized, a giant pumpkin costs £4.99 from Aldi, compared to £7 at Morrisons. While an extra large costs £2.49 and a large costing £1.69. Waitrose sells large pumpkins for £3.50 and munchkin pumpkins for £1.20, compared to Aldi’s mini’s costing just 48p.
While carving pumpkins has been a Halloween tradition for years, environmental campaigners are asking Brits this year to decorate rather than carve so that the flesh can make it onto our plates and stay out of the bin. A total of 24.5 million pumpkins will end up in the bin this Halloween and get left to rot in landfill adding to the climate crisis, warn campaigners. It is estimated that nearly 39 million pumpkins will be bought this year but only 37% will be eaten – worth an estimated £41.3 million.
Emily Gussin, food writer and author of Don’t Waste Your Pumpkin said: “Pumpkin is a bit of an unsung hero in my eyes. It’s visually one of the most iconic vegetables of autumn, so it’s a travesty that they’re mostly wasted. The sweet nutty taste of pumpkin is the perfect warmer for the season and it’s incredibly versatile. You can use it to make everything from soup to cheesecakes, adding beautiful flavour and nutrition to every bite.”
Some ideas of what to do with your pumpkin instead of carving include:
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Decorate your pumpkin instead of carving. It will be more likely to stay fresh to eat
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Use edible glue to stick paper and card. Icing sugar mixed with water works well
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You can eat every part, except the stalk. Dried pumpkin seeds can be added to salads or make a great pesto
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Dishes can be sweet or savoury. Roast wedges or use to make cakes and pies
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