Pumpkins are the best known of the winter squash family, which reaches our markets around this time of year to give us lots of culinary opportunities over winter. Around the world, there are different and overlapping names for pumpkin and squash – plain confusing – and to make it worse, some species have many varieties and one may be a squash and another a pumpkin.

My take on it – and I do not suggest that it is the ultimate solution – is that squashes have a softer flesh, that can also be stringy, while pumpkins have a firmer flesh and will cook up dryer. The contradiction to this, of course, is that I often buy a buttercup to bake – and it should be rich, firm and nutty in flavour, yet is called a Buttercup Squash. Confused? The best thing to do is to experiment with different varieties, to discover your favourites for different styles of cooking.

Buttercup Squash: Dark green skin with a fine textured orange flesh. Ideal to roast and steam, microwave and mashing.

Butternut Squash: Delightfully pear shaped, with a buttery colour. Ideal to halve and bake with just a knob of butter and a seasoning of salt and pepper; otherwise microwave or steam in large pieces.

Crown Pumpkin: Easily recognized with its blue-grey skin and rich orange flesh. Crown pumpkins will keep well cool dark place with good airflow (like a garage), so long as the stalk is intact, the flesh not split. Ideal for mashing, roasting, making pumpkin soup.

Halloween Pumpkin: So called from its vibrant orange colour; has a dense sweet flesh. Ideal to bake, mash, steam or microwave and for soup.

Mini Squashes: Not readily available throughout the whole country, mini squashes can have yellow, green or orange skins. They are best baked whole but can vary in size and, therefore, cooking time. Serve whole with a spoon to scoop out the flesh.

I know that there is a huge range of commercial pumpkin soups…packets, tins, fresh, chilled…in the supermarket, but I still believe that it’s much nutritionally better (and, frankly, a whole lot more flavourful) to make your own with a good ham or bacon stock. So many of the commercial ones have high levels of salt and sugar that you can’t control the way you can if you make it. I haven’t included a pumpkin soup in our recipe suggestions, because most people have their favourite version.

Here are a few recipe suggestions for you to consider: Jamaican Baked Squash, German Style Roast Leg Lamb with Roast Pumpkin Salad, Ginger Pumpkin Topped Chicken Pies, Potato and Pumpkin Curry, Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup, Roasted Pumpkin Burgers, Pumpkin and Chilli Risotto. All of these are delicious and very different from each other.