Seasons/Availability
Growing in all shapes and sizes, look for a variety of wonderful festive Pumpkins beginning in September through late fall.
Current Facts
More than 16,000 acres in the United States produce pumpkins used as a food fresh, frozen or canned. Pumpkins are also a popular feed for stock. A pumpkin by-product having a strong flavor and vivid color called pumpkin seed oil is most often mixed with other oils for cooking, salad dressings and for many other uses.
Description/Taste
Growing in many interesting shapes, colors and sizes, pumpkins make their fall market debut from the darling miniature to the awesome gigantic. Whatever color, they stand out amidst their contrasting rich green foliage that grows on trailing annual vines. Encased in a moderately hard shell, the thick edible flesh harbors a central multi-seed cavity. The bright orange flesh offers a consistent sweet mild flavor. Pumpkin seeds, known as pepitas, may be roasted and enjoyed as a snack. Lovely pumpkin blossoms may be used like any of those of the squash family, deliciously batter-dipped and fried.
Nutritional Value
A very tasty source of vitamins and minerals, a pumpkin's nutritious orange flesh offers beta carotene, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and dietary fiber. Pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil offer zinc and unsaturated fatty acids that are effective in helping prostate problems.
Applications
Fresh pumpkin can be prepared and cooked like any squash. Cut into chunks; simmer 20 to 40 minutes until tender; drain. When cool, remove skin and make a yummy seasoned pumpkin puree. Not only for flavoring desserts, pumpkin adds its extraordinary tastiness to many savory dishes. Pies, breads, cookies, muffins, puddings and even soup benefit from its flavor contribution. Roast the seeds on a cookie sheet at a low oven temperature; stir often and watch carefully so they don't burn. Seeds may be soaked in salt water prior to roasting, if desired. Less expensive, shelled pumpkin seeds may be used as a substitute for pine nuts in recipes. To store, keep in a cool dry area up to one month, or refrigerate for up to 3 months. For extended storage, wash pumpkins in a bleach and water solution to disinfect skin and to prevent mold. Dry well. Wipe any mold off with vegetable oil. Pumpkin can be frozen or canned.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
It was in Ireland where Halloween had its scary beginning. As the Irish legend claims, a man named Stingy Jack was too mean to go to heaven and had played just too many tricks on the devil to be allowed in hell. When Jack died, he had to forever walk the earth carrying a lantern made out of a turnip with a piece of coal burning inside. Thus, the infamous Stingy Jack became known as "Jack of the Lantern" or as we know it today, "jack-o'-lantern". This Irish legend began the tradition of putting jack-o'-lanterns made of vegetables by doors or in windows on Halloween. The first jack-o'-lanterns were not made with pumpkins but instead were made from potatoes, rutabagas, turnips and even beets. Meant to scare away Stingy Jack and any other spirits believed to be walking earth that particular night, it wasn't until immigrants brought this tradition to the United States that pumpkins were used for jack-o'-lanterns.
Geography/History
Native to Central America, growers through the years have cross-pollinated different varieties of pumpkins to create new cultivars. Seeds developed by William Warnock near the turn of the century are credited for all the giant pumpkins grown today. In fact, he grew the very first record-breaking pumpkin in 1893 which weighed in at a whopping 365 pounds. The word pumpkin is derived from "pepon", a Greek word meaning "a large melon". The English called it "pumpion or pompion", a term dating back to 1547. It wasn't until 1647, however, that this term appeared in print. One of the many foods prized by Native American Indians in the New World, the grand pumpkin which they called "isquotersquash" was also a very welcomed hardy food for hungry Pilgrims. Not only excellent for eating, creative Indians pounded strips of pumpkin flat, dried them and wove the dried pumpkin strips into mats.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Pumpkins. One
is easiest, three is harder.
