Pumpkins - Their History

(Cucurbita)

How many of you remember learning about pumpkins in school when we were taught that the new settlers and the Indians sat down to a dinner where pumpkins were served? That's how I remember the story of the pumpkin. What about you? What do you know? Let's sit back and learn a bit of the pumpkin's history.

The United States is home to the first pumpkin. Their seeds date back to 7000 to 5500 B.C. in Mexico. It is the biggest crop in America and 80% of such crop is grown for Halloween. 

The pumpkin is a squash and is part of the gourd family. A very nutritious food, the pumpkin is rich in fiber, Vitamin A and B, potassium, protein, zinc and iron. You can eat it all from the stems to the flower to the seeds to the skin.  Each pumpkin has approximately 500 seeds.

In the 1700s the settlers and Indians enjoyed eating pumpkins and other squash and they knew how to cook them. They can be baked, boiled, roasted or steamed. There are still animals that enjoy the pumpkin (deer, rabbits, mice, moles, squirrels, chipmunks and woodchucks among others). The Indians relied on the pumpkin for food and even dried them so that they could weave mats.

The first pumpkins were orange and yellow. Nowadays, you can get pumpkins in blue, green, yellow, red, and even white. Pumpkins come in a wide selection. There are 45 different kinds of pumpkins.

Do you see the small white pumpkin in the foreground of the first photo? It's an albino pumpkin also known as a Baby Boo. It now sits on my kitchen island but will be history in a day or so as it's getting too soft to keep. Oh well. There's always next year. 

The photo above is a photo of a peanut pumpkin. I was fascinated by it when I visited a local pumpkin patch. Isn't it interesting? Peanut pumpkins are a hybrid of the pumpkin. Some think the peanut pumpkins are ugly. They are a result of too much sugar that leaks out and attaches to the skin in peanut shapes. They are so very sweet and perfect for baking.

When I think of a pumpkin, I think of Halloween. That's how society has changed. We no longer think of it mainly as food, as the early settlers and Indians did. We have so many foods to choose from. Now it's mainly used to decorate our doorsteps on Halloween and we have a tradition of carving the pumpkin. Do you know how they got their name? It's from the Greek word meaning "pepon" which means large melon.

Pumpkin is a squash and is related to the gourd family. All of them are edible. Some sweeter than others. When people put a display out, as above, they add variety to it by putting an assortment of squashes and gourds with it. Nice large plate of goodness, huh? 

It was the late 1800s when Americans started eating pumpkin pies when celebrating. It is still enjoyed today. How delicious!

 

The pumpkin, what we think of when fall comes. The pumpkin, what we think of when Halloween comes near. Pumpkin, what we think of when we think of Thanksgiving dinner. 

Maybe we'll go back and eat more pumpkin. Maybe we won't. We have a choice.

All photos are available for purchase.

Thank you for visiting!

Judy

References:

Ott, C. (2012). Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/food/pumpkins.html

http://www.hsgpurchasing.com/Articles/pumpkin.htm

https://www.livescience.com/48555-facts-about-pumpkins.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-the-new-orange-for-pumpkins/