Pumpkin

Name: Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima and C. moschata) — a round, orange (or sometimes white, green or blue-grey) winter squash with thick, ribbed skin and sweet, deep yellow-orange flesh. The word is loosely used for many round squashes.

Description

Pumpkins are native to the Americas, where squashes have been cultivated for 7,500 to 10,000 years, long before maize and beans, and were an important food of Native Americans. They were introduced to Europe after the voyages of Columbus, and became part of American colonial cooking, where pumpkin pie developed.

The Halloween jack-o'-lantern tradition originated in Ireland and Scotland, where people carved turnips and other root vegetables, and when immigrants brought the custom to North America, they found pumpkins easier to carve. The United States, China, India and Russia grow large amounts, and varieties for carving are usually less tasty than those grown for eating.

Main nutrition value

Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta-carotene (vitamin A), and also provides vitamin C, potassium and fibre, with relatively few calories for a starchy vegetable.

How best to be consumed

Pumpkin is cooked, and the seeds can be eaten too.

1. Roast wedges or chunks with oil until soft, then use in soups, curries, risottos, pasta and salads.
2. Puree into pies, muffins, breads and soups, with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
3. Choose small “sugar” or pie pumpkins for eating, rather than large carving types.
4. Roast the seeds (pepitas) with salt and oil as a snack.
5. Store whole pumpkins in a cool, dry place for months.

Overconsumption could cause…

Pumpkin is safe and healthy in food amounts.

1. Higher carbohydrate and calorie intake than summer squashes, which matters for people managing diabetes or weight.
2. Digestive discomfort, such as gas or bloating, from a lot of fibre at once in some people.
3. Added sugar, cream and butter in pumpkin pie, lattes and sweet baking.
4. Bitter pumpkin, which should be discarded because of cucurbitacins.
5. Allergic reactions in rare cases, and orange-tinted skin from very large amounts (carotenemia).

GroupsOther Starchy VegetablesSquash and GourdsGourd family (Cucurbitaceae)Low fatLow sodiumRich in vitamin AFresh

Related foodsButternut SquashAcorn SquashKabocha SquashSpaghetti SquashYellow SquashChayote

Wikipedia — Pumpkin, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin