Halloween pumpkin?In Basilicata it is the 'cuccuzza logna'

At the table the most popular dish is cavatelli, sausage and pumpkin (with a homemade version of dried pasta)

POWER - The “cuccuzza logna”, as it has always been called by the farmers of Basilicata – tradition has it with bread balls – it is the peasant version of the most famous Halloween pumpkin.But at the table the most popular dish is cavatelli, sausage and pumpkin (with homemade dried pasta version) although the agrichefs of the farmhouses, ready for the All Saints' Day lunch, offer a variety of pumpkin-based dishes.

“Production – underlines Cia-Agricoltori – is increasingly limited in Basilicata, in family gardens and with family consumption. The sudden and continuous climate changes of 2023 have cut the pumpkin harvest by an average of 20% compared to the average.Where pumpkins have been saved, they present quality characteristics, sweet, dry pumpkins, for tortelli, ravioli with a preference for velvety.There are still peasant companies that make jams and sweets. In the markets of the region, pumpkins from Puglia are mostly sold.In these cases the price exceeds 1 euro per kg with peaks of up to 1.50-2 euros per kg for pumpkins, mostly ornamental.These are pumpkins of all types, which differ in size (small or enormous), in shape (elongated tube-shaped, trumpet-shaped, hat-shaped, flattened, spiral, round), in the skin (wrinkled , lumpy, ribbed, smooth) and for the color (of every shade, from green to bright red, passing through striped pumpkins)”.

The witches' night then opened the new carved pumpkin market.“But be careful – warns Cia:If you don't eat the Halloween pumpkin, you pay 22% VAT.A company that operates wholesale in a fruit and vegetable market has asked the revenue agency with a request for ruling on the VAT regime to be applied.This is the verdict:you pay only 4% if you eat it, on the contrary if it is not edible the value added tax jumps to 22%".The technicians studied the product profile of the product and as stated in the document "the so-called Halloween pumpkins and, in general, ornamental pumpkins, in many cases inedible due to their hard consistency and bitter taste, if not actually their toxicity“.