At this time of year, pumpkin is everywhere. Yes, bright orange pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns grace our front steps, but I’m talking about pumpkin to eat. Pumpkin is ubiquitous as a flavoring in almost every category of food. It’s impossible to avoid.

We’ve come a long way from an eagerly anticipated seasonal slice of pumpkin pie or fragrant and spicy pumpkin bread from a family recipe. Now, pumpkin is everywhere.

Brewers led the charge in beverages. Almost every craft brewery has an offering in the broad category of pumpkin-flavored beers. “Craft brewers create specialty seasonal beers all year long, and it seems that pumpkin beers are by far the most popular,” says Gregg Glaser, editor of Yankee Brew News.

Appearing in late summer and fading after Thanksgiving, these beers have an avid fans who look for them as the seasons change. I’m partial to Roadsmary’s Baby from Two Roads Brewing in Stratford. It has a subtle background of pumpkin paired with rum flavor from the barrels used for aging.

Starbucks was an early coffee trendsetter with their Pumpkin Spice Latte, a perennial favorite. Most other coffee bars have jumped on the pumpkin band wagon too. They generally offer a pumpkin muffin or donut to accompany the coffee.

It’s important to be clear about what is meant by pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin by itself is only modestly appealing, tasting like the vegetable it is, prized for its bright color, easy to use right from the can, a staple of American kitchens. But when most people talk about pumpkin flavor, what they really mean is pumpkin pie spice flavor: the traditional mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves (and sometimes nutmeg); enriched with sugar, eggs and milk; completely different from unadorned pumpkin and very delicious. In the fall, the house should smell like this.

The pumpkin juggernaut is taking over the fall season. The other day, the October Trader Joe’s Flyer came in the mail. It featured 41 pumpkin flavored foods! Cookies, candy and snacks were the largest category with 13 choices, bakery items were a close second with 12. There were dairy products, cereals, desserts, beverages, and a host of other goodies, including one featured beer. Even the Stop and Shop sent out an advertisement for pumpkin pasta sauce. Pumpkin is all around us.

My son called the other day, excited about (of all things) pumpkin bread. He had heard of a recipe making the rounds on the internet for making it with only two ingredients – a can of pumpkin and a box of spice cake mix. It’s beyond simple to make and baked up with an appealing mix of pumpkin and spice flavors, a cakey texture and rich dark color. My wife has made a much more labor intensive, delicious pumpkin bread for years, the recipe from the farmhouse where she lived during college. Made every fall for decades and recalling memories of her days in Bloomfield, it’s a seasonal tradition in our family. I like mine with cream cheese. Visit FranksFeast.com for the recipe

These days there is an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Pumpkin is one of the few areas where this may not be a good idea. The attractive orange pumpkins so widely available are pretty hard to cook with. Peeling and cutting them up is a chore – just ask any jack-o-lantern carver! The flesh is watery and stringy, not at all like the canned version. Making this into a useable pumpkin puree for cooking is a lot of work that can yield a disappointing flavor and texture. If you want to try using fresh pumpkin Haley Willard of The Daily Meal website recommends 9 varieties best for cooking including: Baby Pam, Baby Bear, Cinderella, Fairytale, Long Island Cheese (from its shape) and New England Pie. Ask for these at the farmer’s market.

Canned pumpkin is a consistent and reliable source to use for baking. Some brands include what you think might be squash, but the line between squash and pumpkin in this context is pretty blurry. Members of the squash family may be counted as a pumpkin for labeling purposes. Each brand has its own blend, with a characteristic color, flavor and consistency. Some pumpkin recipes specify a canned brand to be used. Some families count on their favorite brand to give reliable results from year to year with favorite recipes. Libby’s dominates the shelves, but there are other options, too. Canned pumpkin is not the same as canned pumpkin pie, which already has some spices. Be sure you’re getting the one you want.

From Labor day to Thanksgiving, pumpkin is the big trend in a wide range of foods. By this time, it seems a bit much, but by next September, I’ll be looking for pumpkin in my beer, pie, donuts, bread, muffins, and more.