About Pumpkins!

In Europe, pumpkins aren’t popular in the way they are used here, and, in general, Halloween wasn’t seen as a holiday in the 2000s when I was already in my teens, so I never went trick-or-treating, for example. The reason is likely tied to religious beliefs, especially among the older generation. So, until I made a post about its history last year, I didn’t know much about it, as you might have guessed, my picked topic is pumpkins, history, facts, and things in between.

Did you know that Pumpkins are a fruit?

Yes, if we go by nature’s intention, they are considered fruits since they originate from the flowers of their plants.

Have you ever been curious about how many seeds one produces?

I will tell you so you don’t have to count; it has 500 seeds, and if you aren’t as messy as I, they are a fantastic snack when dried in the sun.

There are 45 varieties, with some having funny names like Baby Bear, Spooktacular, Ghost Rider, Tricky Jack, and Sweetie Pie.

The largest species is the Atlantic Giant, being able to have grown 50 pounds/ 22.68 kg per day, which is a little less than my dog.

They are among the oldest plants.

They are native to North America, with the older variety being the C. pepo pumpkins. According to the documents we have, they were present in Mesoamerica, dating back to between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE.

The name comes from the Greek.

The name has its roots in the word “peopon,” which translates to “large melon,” and then evolved to “pompon” in French and “pumpion” in Britain. The Americans later changed it to “pumpkin,” the name we still use today.

Made from 92% of water.

Apart from its high water content, it is low in energy density. Pumpkins are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin A and beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant that gives orange vegetables and fruits their colour.

Alex