Autumn is very gracious for chefs and culinary aficionados. Orchards and gardens are full of delicious fruit that are base for excellent, autumn-themed dishes.

If you would ask people, which fruit they associate with autumn the most, the answer would most probably be pumpkin. This fruit’s family encompasses 760 different species! The most popular ones include the slightly yellow, pear-shaped butternut squash, and the intensely orange and sweet Muscat de Provence, or Muscat squash. The easiest in processing, on the other hand, is the Hokkaido pumpkin. It is sweet, with a hint of nuts and, what is most important, its peel is edible.

Pumpkin, although very often hard to process, is a very “graceful” product, which can be roasted, fried, or stewed. Pumpkin soup is a real treat, as well as delicious dumplings and original pumpkin pie.

Fried pumpkin and pumpkin emulsion are excellent in combination with chickpea, compressed celery, marinated beet (another of autumn classics!), and fantastically complement cod loins. This dish is served in the traditional restaurant, Gdański Bowke.

Pumpkin is also one of the main ingredients in one of the dishes in a tasting menu at 1906 Gourmet Restaurant in Pałac Ciekocinko. Here, it is served with potato dumplings, sage, and brown butter.

Pumpkin can be eaten in many different ways, also as mousse. It is a delicious base for bacon, which is served with caramelised apple and roasted sweet chestnut in Zafishowani restaurant in Gdańsk.

Speaking of apples and sweet chestnuts. These are yet another treasures of autumn that cannot be underestimated. Apples are not only a great base for desserts, such as the traditional Polish apple pie, but also an excellent addition to meat. Apples, as well as pears, are one of main ingredients of the classic slow-roasted goose (gęś szmurowana). It is one of the dishes that are part of the long culinary tradition of Kaszuby. Besides, except for apples and pears, the recipe tells to also add cranberry, another autumn fruit, beneficial for human health.

Sweet chestnuts that we mentioned before can be roasted, baked, fried, and cooked. They are nutritious, and can be a delicious snack or serve as an ingredient in other dishes.

When talking about autumn fruits, we have to mention sea-buckthorn. Because of high concentration of vitamins C and E, the small, orange balls win the award for the healthiest fruit. Sea buckthorn is also a source of beta-carotene and fatty acids (omega-3, -6, and -9). Its fruit are sour, this is why they taste best paired with sweet treats, like at Brovarnia restaurant at Hotel Gdańsk. Here, in the menu we will find brownie cheesecake with sea-buckthorn coulis sauce and meringue.

No dessert can go without a warming tea, especially with quince in different forms: pieces of fruit, jam, juice, or tincture.

Autumn fruit have one advantage: they can be consumed right away, or processed, put in jars, and then on a pantry shelf. Pumpkins, quince, apples, pears, plums can be put in vinegar to provide the much needed vitamins during winter. What is most important, they can be made into jams, mousses, etc. and eaten all year round!