We are all obsessed with pumpkin, and Twitter can prove it

Fall and pumpkins are meant to be together, and it turns out I’m not the only one who thinks so.

It happens every year. The days get shorter, nights get colder, and there are dangerous stampedes across the nation as people rush to order their first Pumpkin Spice Lattes of the year. Basically, we all freak out.

That’s because celebrities and Joe Schmoes alike are in with love pumpkins, with their cheery orange roundness and slightly sweet, savory flesh that is magically enhanced by the sprinkling of spices found in that holiest of autumnal beverages, the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

And I think we’d all welcome this addition to the Spice Girls:

According to Twitter’s data, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is being talked about 17 percent more often in 2014 than it was last year. But nowhere is pumpkin more popular than in Vermont. Residents of the Green Mountain State tweet about pumpkins more than anywhere else in the country, followed by New Hampshire and my home state of Maine (I knew my disturbing obsession with all things pumpkin would be validated someday!).

Pumpkin love… This guy gets it.

You can check out the interactive pumpkin map here to see if your state made the grade — I can’t imagine you have anything more important to do.

Pumpkin is like a long-distance lover: When it’s in town, you want to do as much with it as you can. And there’s no better way to really connect with pumpkin than to cook with it.

The top 10 most-talked-about pumpkin foods on Twitter include the following (click each one for a recipe!):

1. Pumpkin pie
2. Pumpkin bread
3. Pumpkin cake
4. Pumpkin soup
5. Pumpkin cheesecake
6. Pumpkin muffins
7. Pumpkin cookies
8. Pumpkin bars
9. Pumpkin seed recipes
10. Pumpkin chili

People are always going on about how social media is destroying our society, but it’s pretty awesome to step back and see how our universal love of pumpkin is being channeled across Twitter.

Whether you eat it, carve it or drink it, make the most of pumpkin now. When summer makes its inevitable return, you’ll have to say goodbye.

More ways to love pumpkin while you still can

29 Sweet and savory pumpkin recipes
What to do with leftover pumpkins
Pumpkin seed milk