One bad pumpkin experience and you may never go back. There is something oddly delicious about the prevalence of pumpkin-flavored foods during the holiday season. Pumpkin is appealing in some contexts, but horrifying in others. It’s not hard to believe pumpkin foods are discriminated against because of their squash-like veggie involvements. But not all shades of pumpkin are equal – and many of them are available on campus. Check it out…

Raw pumpkin: This tastes like squash, but disgusting. Much like how some people say guava tastes like vomit, pumpkin has the same effect. Beware of uncooked pumpkin.

Pumpkin seeds: These are delicious. Super salty and easy to get, pumpkin seeds are a yummy snack. You can even roast your own! Just cut open a pumpkin, pick out the seeds, soak them in water and salt overnight and pop them in the oven till they’re crispy.

Pumpkin cream cheese/cheese cake: Not bad. Similar in taste to pumpkin pie, but with the flavor of cream cheese thrown into the mix. If you enjoy pumpkin pie and cheesecake, this is a match made in dessert heaven for you. These can be found at Bruegger’s Bagels.

Pumpkin spice latte: This is like a liquid pumpkin pie blended with some coffee and heated. If you are a coffee junkie and you love the spice blend in pumpkin pie, this is your beverage. These can be found around campus at Starbucks, Canyon Café, Espresso Art and CaffÇù Luce.

Pumpkin milkshake: If pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream had a baby, it would be this. Available at The Cellar, this fantastic milkshake is worth consuming. It might sound unappetizing, but it is definitely worth checking out. You can always make your own, too, because pumpkin ice cream is common in grocery stores this time of year.

There are many other variations of this lovely seasonal flavor, like pumpkin soup, good ol’ pumpkin pie, stuffed pumpkin and more. Almost everyone loves to carve pumpkins for Halloween and scarf down giant slices of Nana’s famous pumpkin pie, but venturing out of the box can be kind of scary. As with most foods, each of these pumpkin concoctions – excluding raw pumpkin – deserves at least one chance to impress your taste buds.