I spotted the two pumpkins pictured while walking my dog through a Cotswold village last year. I couldn’t resist photographing them. I knew that the picture would come in useful one day — as it has. One amazing thing about modern technology is that all I had to do when looking for a suitable photograph for this feature was to punch ‘pumpkin’ into my computer’s photo file and up came a multitude of pictures I have taken over the years, each reminding me of the pumpkin’s versatility.

I found countless photographs of pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, roasted pumpkin, stuffed pumpkin, curried pumpkin, roasted pumpkin seeds and loads of pictures of whole pumpkins stacked on shelves outside farm shops such as Peach Croft Farm, near Abingdon, where a splendid assortment of gourds is always available at this time of the year.

Having written about pumpkins so often, I admit an element of panic creeping in as I face the blank page before me. What on earth can I say about this remarkable fruit that hasn’t been said before? And how can I find a different way of encouraging readers to rush out and buy one?

Perhaps I should provide a recipe for the pumpkin juice that was so popular with the pupils of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Sadly my juicer broke down some time ago and I have yet to replace it, so that is not possible.

One important thing about pumpkins that should be stressed is how good they are for us. The bright orange colour of its outer skin is a dead giveaway — this fruit (yes it is a fruit and not a vegetable) is loaded with the important antioxidant beta-carotene which is converted to vitamin A in the body and performs many important functions in overall health. It is thought that beta-carotene reduces the risk of developing certain kinds of cancer and offers protection against heart disease. It also contains dietary fibre, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins C and E.

Gardeners who grow pumpkins don’t need reminding that they grow on vines at ground level, and usually make a take-over bid for most of the surrounding earth as they creep along the ground. It takes between 90 and 120 days for pumpkins to mature ready for an October harvest. Provided they have been watered regularly throughout the warm weather, they have been known to weigh in at 100lb.

Cultivated pumpkins are thought to have originated from Central America, where they were a staple food for the native Americans, though seeds from related plants dating back to 5500BC have been found in Mexico. The practice of carving them is said to have begun in Ireland. Folklore suggests the Jack-o’-Lantern was named after an infamous drunkard and trickster named Jack who fooled Satan.

When Jack died he was refused entry to Heaven and denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. It seems he was given a single ember by the devil to light him on his way as he wandered between Heaven and Hall. To keep the ember glowing for as long as possible Jack hollowed out a turnip to keep it safe and light his way through the darkness.

In both Scotland and Ireland people began making their own versions of Jack’s lantern. Turnips were eventually replaced by pumpkins when people re-enacted his plight, as they were larger and far easier to carve. The festival of Halloween, which began as All Hallows’ Eve or the Night of the Dead, goes right back to the 7th century.

As I have pointed out frequently, the pulp that is removed when you carve your pumpkin need not be wasted. The seeds can be removed, washed and roasted and the flesh used for soup, added to casseroles or pulped and used to flavour and moisten bread. When you have cooked it to a pulp, it is worth remembering that it can be frozen and stored for later.

Pumpkin flesh is rather tasty when served as a gratin. There is an excellent recipe for this in the Dairy Book of Home Cooking and Dairy Diary (Eaglemoss Publications, priced £10.49 and £6.99 respectively) and available from your milkman. The recipe calls for wedges of uncooked pumpkin to be placed in a buttered dish and covered with a topping of grated cheese, breadcrumbs, chopped nuts, thyme leaves and seasoning. Having scattered the topping over the pumpkin and drizzled melted butter on top, it is just a matter of baking it for about half an hour at 200C/400F or gas mark 6, until the topping has turned a bubbly golden brown. This easy-to-make dish is both inexpensive and tasty. As it can be made from the pumpkin flesh left over from carving, it’s certainly an apt dish to serve at your Halloween party, especially if you scatter pumpkin seeds over the top before baking.