It seems that everywhere you go, butter – which used to be considered the arch enemy of healthy eating – is now the “in” thing to eat. Be it good old peanut, almond, sunflower seed, cashew or avocado, butter is being slathered on every edible surface possible.

I had never heard of Pumpkin Butter until my husband suggested we try to find some while in WholeFoods. My immediate excitement was soon squished when a rather vacant looking assistant “helped” us with our search by admitting she’d never heard of such a thing. Having scoured the limited number of food stores in downtown Seattle, I was not to be defeated – I was determined to get a taste of this mysterious pumpkin rarity.

So I was faced with the perilous situation of resorting to making my own, even though I had no idea how the resulting butter should look or taste. So what is pumpkin butter made of? Pumpkin Spice and all things nice, that’s what Pumpkin Butter is made of!

If you’ve never tried Pumpkin Butter, you don’t know what you’re missing. The balance of sweet maple syrup against the warm spicy fall flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves is truly pumpkin-tastic.

Not just for spreading on toast – what is it with this huge interest in plain ole toast nowadays? – Pumpkin Butter also makes a delicious addition to pancakes, waffles, pumpkin bread, English muffins, crumpets, greek yoghurt, and you can even add a spoonful to your oatmeal – or porridge, as I would call it.

I couldn’t believe how incredibly easy Pumpkin Butter was to make. You simply throw all of the ingredients into a large saucepan, stir to combine, and place on a medium-high heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce to a low heat and leave to simmer for a further 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Once done, transfer the hot butter into your hot, sterilised glass jars and that’s all there is to it. Once the jars have completely cooled, store them in the refrigerator for approximately 3 weeks – if it lasts that long!

In order to store Pumpkin Butter hygienically and to prolong it’s shelf life, you MUST sterilize your glass jars before use. This sounds like a rather time-consuming and complex task, but it is amazingly simple.

First pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Then wash the jars in hot soapy water and place them upside down on a roasting tray – do NOT dry them, they should be wet! Place the tray into the preheated oven and leave for 15 minutes to sterilise. You should also put your hot Pumpkin Butter mix straight into the hot jars, so I made sure to pop my jars in the oven while the Pumpkin Butter was on the hob.

Followers in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain can now buy our favourite kitchen tools and gadgets at the Arugula & Rocket Store on Amazon. Readers in the USA can visit the Tovolo website.