2023… The pumpkin festival had closed and we still had a few pumpkins left on the patch. ‘Don’t worry’ I said to the others, I’ll get it sorted. And I called Fair Share food bank who promised they would come to pick up the excess within the week. Part of the project of the patch is demonstrating farm-to-fork, how farmers grow produce, and how to be sustainable. The food bank was my answer… or so I thought!

When I looked out the window, the foodbank had only taken 50%… ‘I’m sorry we’re not taking these ones’ and off they drove. What was I going to do with all these pumpkins? That’s how I developed the idea of reusing the fruit myself, going zero waste, full sustainability and creating Brookleigh Farm’s Pumpkin and Orange Spiced Jam.

It’s been a true revelation! Not only is it wonderful to make, a type of therapy! Going through the rituals of slicing, deseeding, peeling, chopping, zesting, spicing and bubbling. Once it is simmering on the Aga, the house is packed full of wonderful aromas, and the clink of preparing jam jars gets us all excited about the next batch…it’s a pure joy to bottle the magnificent dark amber stickiness, to see the jars glimmering, full of delicious yumminess!

Surprising nice! That’s my catchphrase… What does it taste like? well… not anything like pumpkin to be honest…Sweet, mellow, spicy, warm, and just delicious! Have it on toast, or to compliment cheese and charcuterie, it’s just very tasty, the perfect complement to Autumn.