Try These 3 Made-in-Ohio Pumpkin Foods

Try This: Jeni’s Pumpkin Seed & Rye Cookie Ice Cream
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams rolls with the seasons, offering white chocolate peppermint around the holidays and strawberry buttermilk in the summer. The surest sign of fall is its new Pumpkin Seed & Rye Cookie Ice Cream. This autumnal treat celebrates the often-overlooked pumpkin seed, which brings a sweet, nutty flavor to Jeni’s signature creamy ice cream base. Made with smooth pumpkin seed butter and enhanced with a drizzle of toasted pumpkin seed oil, the ice cream is complemented by warm notes of honey and brown sugar, with a crunchy rye cookie crumble swirled throughout. It’s basically the essence of the season in ice cream form. jenis.com

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Editor’s Note: This story was published in 2021, but was most recently updated in October 2024 to feature a the new Pumpkin Seed & Rye Cookie fall flavor from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. 

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Try This: Katalina’s Pancake Balls with Pumpkin Apple Butter
The quirky cafe with locations in Columbus’ Harrison West and Clintonville neighborhoods is known for its eclectic decor and menu inspired by both Latin and Southern flavors. Its standout dish is its pancake balls: pillowy round pancakes filled with Nutella, dulce de leche or pumpkin apple butter. Cooper’s Mill in Bucyrus makes the special pumpkin apple butter for the cafe. “It reminds me of back when I was growing up, everyone canned and used everything,” says Katalina’s Cafe owner Kathleen Day. “That’s what I try to do at Katalina’s: make as much from scratch as possible.” Diners who fall in love with the fruit butter can purchase a jar or two at the cafe to take home. katalinas.com

Try This: Taft’s Brewing Co.’s Frisch’s Pumpkin Pie Ale
If you’ve been pining for a slice of pumpkin pie in a pint glass, you’ve found it. Cincinnati’s Taft’s Brewing Co. first teamed with Frisch’s in autumn of 2020 to present the southwest Ohio-based restaurant chain’s pumpkin pie as a beer, bringing together cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with vanilla for a creamy finish. The brewery suggests serving it at home with a honey and cinnamon sugar rim, and the beer goes well with earthy flavors like butternut squash or beef stew. “We wanted to collaborate with something iconically Cincinnati, and Frisch’s pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving staple,” explains brewery marketing and event coordinator Tori Zamrik. “We reached out, and the rest is history.” taftsbeer.com