Next time you carve a pumpkin, don't throw away those stringy "guts" - use them to make this refreshing drink. From what I hear, this is exactly the way they make it at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

About 8-12 servings (depending on the size of your glasses)

Ingredients

3- 4 inches of fresh ginger, cut into about 12 chunks (no need to remove skin)

1 half-gallon apple cider

6 cups pumpkin "guts" (the stringy parts you scoop out of the pumpkin when carving your jack-o-lantern), seeds removed

4 cinnamon sticks

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (or half this much if using table salt)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat with the lid on.

2. Turn the heat to low and set the lid askew. Simmer gently for at least 30 minutes to an hour, but longer is better to extract maximum flavor, up to several hours.

3. Strain out the solids and chill until ready to serve.

Notes:

This is delicious hot or cold, but it seems a bit more authentic to the books to serve it cold, so that's what we generally opt for.

And in case you don't already have them (is that possible?), here's a link to the books on Amazon: