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{{Short description|Category of culinary winter Cucurbita squashes}}
{{otheruses}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Taxobox
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
| name = Pumpkin
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| image = Pumpkins.jpg
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}
| image_width = 250px
] in New Orleans, Louisiana]]
| regnum = ]
]'', all others are '']'']]
| divisio = ]
]
| classis = ]
| ordo = ]
| familia = ]
| genus = '''''] spp.'''''
| genus_authority = ]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
'']''<br>
'']''<br>
'']''<br>
'']''<br>
}}


A '''pumpkin''' is a ] ] in the genus '']''.<ref name="Ferriol" /><ref name="USARS">{{Cite book |last=United States Agricultural Research Service. Crops Research Division |url=http://archive.org/details/CAT70292885 |title=Growing pumpkins and squashes ] |work=Garden Help FAQ}}</ref>
'''Pumpkin''' is a ]-like ] of the genus '']'' and the family '']'' (which also includes gourds).<ref name="itis"></ref> It can refer to either species '']'' or ''Cucurbita mixta'', and sometimes to a specific variety of either the species '']'' or '']''.


The use of the word "pumpkin" is thought to have originated in ] in North America, derived from a word for ], or a native word for round. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "]" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for some cultivars of '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''.<ref name="Ferriol" />
==Description==
The word pumpkin originates from the word “pepon” which is Greek for “large melon.” The ] adapted this word to “pompon,” which the ] changed to “pompion” and later American colonists changed that to the word we use today, “pumpkin.” <ref>The Pumpkin Patch. 2007. Halloween Online. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.pumpkin-patch.com>.</ref>
The origin of pumpkins is not known, although pumpkins are thought to have originated in ]. The oldest evidence, pumpkin-related seeds dating between 7000 and 5500 B.C., were found in ]. <ref>The Pumpkin Patch. 2007. Halloween Online. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.pumpkin-patch.com>.</ref><ref>"Pumpkin." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2004. Credo Reference. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/4294972>.</ref>
Pumpkins are a ]-like fruit that range in size (less than 1 pound to over 1000 pounds), shape, color, and appearance (smooth or ribbed). <ref>Michael, Orsolek D., George L. Greaser, and Jayson K. Harper. "Pumpkin Production." Agricultural Alternatives (2000). Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://agalternatives.psu.edu/crops/pumpkin/pumpkin.pdf>.</ref>


''C. pepo'' pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, with evidence of their cultivation dating to between 7000 ] and 5500 BCE. Wild species of '']'' and the earliest domesticated species are native to ] (parts of present-day northeastern ] and the southern ]), but cultivars are now grown globally for culinary, decorative, and other culturally-specific purposes.<ref name="illinoisext">{{cite web |last1=Wolford |first1=Ron |first2=Drusilla |last2=Banks |title=Pumpkins and More |year=2008 |publisher=University of Illinois Extension |access-date=February 19, 2008 |url=http://urbanext.illinois.edu/pumpkins/}}</ref>
Since some ] share the same botanical classifications as pumpkins, the names are frequently used interchangeably. In general, pumpkins have stems which are firmer, more rigid, pricklier, have a +/- 5 degree angle, and are squarer in shape than squash stems which are generally softer, more rounded, and more flared where joined to the fruit. <ref name="Van_Sci_Enc"> cucurbitaceae. (1995). In ''Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia'' (8th ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. </ref> <ref name="Americana"> pumpkin. (1992). In ''The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition''. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated. </ref>


The pumpkin's thick shell contains edible seeds and pulp. ] is a traditional part of ] meals in ] and the United States and pumpkins are frequently used as autumnal seasonal decorations and carved as ]s for decoration around ]. Commercially canned pumpkin ] and pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin varieties from those intended for decorative use.<ref name="preservation-processing">{{Cite book | title=Handbook of Vegetable Preservation and Processing|date=2003-09-12 |chapter=Canned Vegetables: Product Descriptions |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9780203912911-13/canned-vegetables-product-descriptions-peggy-stanfield |language=en |pages=163–191 |publisher=CRC Press |doi=10.1201/9780203912911 |isbn=9780203912911 |editor-last1=Hui |editor-last2=Ghazala |editor-last3=Graham |editor-last4=Murrell |editor-last5=Nip |editor-first1=Y. H |editor-first2=Sue |editor-first3=Dee M |editor-first4=K.D |editor-first5=Wai-Kit }}</ref>
Pumpkins generally weigh 9–18 ] (4–8 ]) with the largest (of the species ''C. maxima'') capable of reaching a weight of over 75 lbs (34 kg).<ref name="Britannica"> pumpkin. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved November 28, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9061895.</ref> The pumpkin varies greatly in shape, ranging from ] through oblong. The rind is smooth and usually lightly ribbed.<ref name="Britannica"/>
Although pumpkins are usually orange or yellow,<ref name="Americana"/> some fruits are dark green, pale green, orange-yellow, white, red and gray.<ref>Pumpkin Nook: .</ref>


==Etymology and terminology==
Pumpkins are ], having both male and female flowers, the latter distinguished by the small ovary at the base of the petals. These bright and colorful flowers have extremely short life spans, and may only open for as short a time as one day. {{Fact|date=November 2007}} The color of pumpkins is derived from the orange pigments abundant in them. The main nutrients are lutein, and both alpha- and beta- carotene, the latter of which generates vitamin A in the body. {{Fact|date=November 2007}}
According to the ], the English word ''pumpkin'' derives from the ] word {{lang|grc|πέπων}} (] {{transliteration|grc|pepōn}}), meaning 'melon'.<ref name="oed">{{cite web|date=2020|title=Pumpkin|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=pumpkin|access-date=22 October 2020|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper Ltd}}</ref><ref name="paris1989">{{cite journal | last1 = Paris | first1 = Harry S. | year = 1989 | title = Historical Records, Origins, and Development of the Edible Cultivar Groups of ''Cucurbita pepo'' (Cucurbitaceae) | journal = ] | volume = 43 | issue = 4 | pages = 423–443 | publisher = New York Botanical Garden Press | jstor = 4255187 | doi=10.1007/bf02935916| bibcode = 1989EcBot..43..423P | s2cid = 29052282 }}</ref> Under this theory, the term transitioned through the ] word {{lang|la|peponem}} and the ] word {{lang|frm|pompon}} to the ] {{lang|enm|pompion}}, which was changed to ''pumpkin'' by 17th-century English colonists, shortly after encountering pumpkins upon their arrival in what is now the northeastern United States.<ref name="oed" />


There is a proposed alternate derivation for ''pumpkin'' from the ] {{lang|wam|pôhpukun}}, meaning 'grows forth round'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fun With Words|url=https://www.wlrp.org/fun-with-words|access-date=22 October 2020|website=Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project}}</ref> This term could have been used by the ] people (who speak the {{lang|wam|Wôpanâak}} dialect of Massachusett) when introducing pumpkins to English ] at ], located in present-day ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kelly|first=Nataly|title=Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms The World|publisher=Perigee|year=2012|isbn=9780399537974|location=New York}}</ref> (The English word '']'' is derived from a Massachusett word, variously transcribed as {{lang|wam|askꝏtasquash}},<ref>{{Cite book|last=Trumbull|first=James Hammond|title=Natick Dictionary|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1903|location=Washington|pages=224}}</ref> {{lang|wam|ashk8tasqash}}, or, in the closely related ], {{lang|xnt|askútasquash}}.)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of Squash|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squash|access-date=22 October 2020|website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary}}</ref>
==Taxonomy==
]
'''Pumpkin''' is the fruit of the species '']'' or '' ] ''. It can refer to a specific variety of the species '']'' or '']'', which are all of the genus '']'' and the family '']''. <ref name="itis"/>


Researchers have noted that the term ''pumpkin'' and related terms like ''ayote'' and ''calabaza'' are applied to a range of winter squash with varying size and shape.<ref name="Ferriol">{{cite book |last1=Ferriol |first1=María |last2=Picó |first2=Belén |title=Vegetables I |series=Handbook of Plant Breeding |date=2008 |volume=1 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |chapter=Pumpkin and Winter Squash |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226740091 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-30443-4_10 |isbn=978-0-387-72291-7 |page=317 |quote=The common terms "pumpkin", "squash", "gourd", "cushaw", "ayote", "zapallo", "calabaza", etc. are often applied indiscriminately to different cultivated species of the New World genus ''Cucurbita'' L. (Cucurbitaceae): ''C.&nbsp;pepo'' L., ''C.&nbsp; maxima'' Duchesne, ''C.&nbsp;moschata'' Duchesne, ''C.&nbsp;argyrosperma'' C.&nbsp;Huber and ''C.&nbsp;ficifolia'' Bouché.}}</ref> The term ''tropical pumpkin'' is sometimes used for pumpkin cultivars of the species ''Cucurbita moschata''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Andres |first=T.C. |date=2004 |title=Diversity in tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata): cultivar origin and history |url=https://cucurbit.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cuc2004proceedings.pdf#page=113 |journal=Progress in Cucurbit Genetics and Breeding Research}}</ref>
In Korea and Japan, the word translating to "pumpkin" (but more accurately referring to the black ''C. moschata'' squashes) is used as a slang term for an unattractive woman. In the ] and Midwest, however, the term "pumpkin" is sometimes used as an endearment.


== Description ==
==Distribution and Habitation==
]'' pumpkin]]
Pumpkins are grown all around the world for a variety of reasons ranging from ] purposes (animal feed) to commercial and ornamental sales. <ref>Wolford, Ron, and Drusilla Banks. Pumpkins and More. 2008. University of Illinois Extension. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins>.</ref> Out of the seven continents only ] is unable to produce pumpkins, the biggest international producers of pumpkins include the ], ], ], and ]. <ref>The Pumpkin Patch. 2007. Halloween Online. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.pumpkin-patch.com>.</ref><ref>"Pumpkin Seeds." World's Healthiest Foods. 2008. The George Mateljan Foundation. 11 Feb. 2008 <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=food&spicedbid=82#healthbenefits>.</ref> The pumpkin capital of the world is ]. <ref>The Pumpkin Patch. 2007. Halloween Online. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.pumpkin-patch.com>.</ref> The traditional American pumpkin is the Connecticut Field variety. <ref>The Pumpkin Patch. 2007. Halloween Online. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.pumpkin-patch.com>.</ref>
Pumpkin fruits are a type of ] known as a ].<ref name="compleat">{{cite book |last=Goldman |first=Amy |title=The Compleat Squash: A Passionate Grower's Guide to Pumpkins, Squash, and Gourds |publisher=Artisan |location=New York |year=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/compleatsquashpa0000gold |isbn=978-1579652517}}</ref> Characteristics commonly used to define pumpkin include smooth and slightly ribbed skin<ref name=UFlor>{{cite web |url=http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/lawn_and_garden/pumpkins.html |title=Pumpkins in Florida |publisher=]}}</ref> and deep yellow to orange color,{{r|UFlor}} although white, green, and other pumpkin colors also exist.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=NBC News|title=White Pumpkins Hit the Halloween Market|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9827573|date=October 26, 2005|agency=Associated Press|access-date=October 9, 2013}}</ref>


While '']'' pumpkins generally weigh between {{convert|6|and|18|lb|kg|0|order=flip}}, ]s can exceed a ] in mass.<ref name="borrell">{{cite web |author=Borrell, Brenda |date=October 2011 |title=The Great Pumpkin |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-great-pumpkin-74423844/?no-ist=&page=1 |access-date=October 31, 2016 |publisher=The Smithsonian Institution}}</ref><ref name="heaviest">{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/belgian-hopes-to-squash-italians-giant-pumpkin-record-htzdnvq0w |title=Belgian Mario Vangeel hopes to squash Italian's giant pumpkin record at world championship |work=The Times |date=2021-10-01 |access-date=2021-10-25 |author=Bruno Waterfield}}</ref> Most are varieties of '']'' that were developed through the efforts of ] and enthusiast farmers.<ref name="borrell" /> The largest ]s frequently reach weights of over {{convert|75|lb|kg|0|order=flip|abbr=on}}. In October 2023, the record for heaviest pumpkin was set at 1,246.9&nbsp;kg (2,749&nbsp;lbs.).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-10 |title=Pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds wins contest and sets world record for biggest gourd |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pumpkin-weighing-2749-pounds-wins-contest-sets-world-record-biggest-go-rcna119649 |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
Although native to the ], pumpkins are cultivated in ], continental ], ], ], ] and some other countries.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The pumpkin is the state fruit of ].


==Ecology== == History ==
{{expand section|date=December 2022}}
===Cultivation in the US===
The oldest evidence of '']'' are pumpkin fragments found in ] that are dated between 7,000 and 5,500&nbsp;BC.<ref name=Mass>{{cite web|title=Pick a Pumpkin from Massachusetts|url=https://blog.mass.gov/blog/living-in-massachusetts/pick-a-pumpkin-from-massachusetts-this-october/|website=Mass.gov|publisher=Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources}}</ref> Pumpkins and other squash species, alongside ] and ], feature in the ] method of ] practiced by many ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mt.Pleasant |first=Jane |date=2016-11-10 |title=Food Yields and Nutrient Analyses of the Three Sisters: A Haudenosaunee Cropping System |url=https://ojs.ethnobiology.org/index.php/ebl/article/view/721 |journal=Ethnobiology Letters |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=87–98–87–98 |doi=10.14237/ebl.7.1.2016.721 |s2cid=67774658 |issn=2159-8126|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, larger modern pumpkin cultivars are typically excluded, as their weight may damage the other crops.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 May 2022 |title=Plant a Three Sisters Garden: Corn, Beans, and Squash {{!}} The Old Farmer's Almanac |url=https://www.almanac.com/content/three-sisters-corn-bean-and-squash |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=www.almanac.com |language=en}}</ref> Within decades after Europeans began colonizing North America, illustrations of pumpkins similar to the modern cultivars ] and ] were published in Europe.<ref name="compleat" />
{{main|Pumpkin cultivation}}
]
]
As one of the most popular crops in the ], 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced each year. <ref>Michael, Orsolek D., George L. Greaser, and Jayson K. Harper. "Pumpkin Production." Agricultural Alternatives (2000). Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://agalternatives.psu.edu/crops/pumpkin/pumpkin.pdf>.</ref> The top pumpkin producing states in the U.S. include ], ], ], and ]. <ref>Wolford, Ron, and Drusilla Banks. Pumpkins and More. 2008. University of Illinois Extension. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins>. </ref>
Pumpkins are a warm weather crop that are usually planted in early July. The specific conditions necessary for growing pumpkins require that soil temperatures 3 inches deep are at least 60 degrees ], and soil that holds water well. Pumpkin crops may suffer if there is a lack of water or due to cold temperatures (in this case, below 65 degrees; frost can be detrimental), and sandy soil or soil with poor water filtration. <ref>Michael, Orsolek D., George L. Greaser, and Jayson K. Harper. "Pumpkin Production." Agricultural Alternatives (2000). Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://agalternatives.psu.edu/crops/pumpkin/pumpkin.pdf>. </ref>


== Cultivation ==
Pumpkins produce both a male and female flower; ] play a significant role in ]. <ref>Michael, Orsolek D., George L. Greaser, and Jayson K. Harper. "Pumpkin Production." Agricultural Alternatives (2000). Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. 19 Feb. 2008 <http://agalternatives.psu.edu/crops/pumpkin/pumpkin.pdf>. </ref>Pumpkins have historically been ] by the native ] ''Peponapis pruinosa'', but this bee has ], probably due to ] sensitivity, and today most commercial plantings are pollinated by ]s. One hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is recommended by the United States of America (US) Department of Agriculture. If there are inadequate bees for pollination, gardeners often have to ]. Inadequately pollinated pumpkins usually start growing but abort before full development. An opportunistic ] is also sometimes blamed for abortions.
Pumpkins are a warm-weather crop that is usually planted by early July in the Northern Hemisphere. Pumpkins require that soil temperatures {{convert|3|in|cm|order=flip|0}} deep are at least {{convert|15.5|C|F|0}} and that the soil holds water well. Pumpkin crops may suffer if there is a lack of water, because of temperatures below {{convert|65|F|C|order=flip|0|disp=or}}, or if grown in soils that become waterlogged. Within these conditions, pumpkins are considered hardy, and even if many leaves and portions of the vine are removed or damaged, the plant can quickly grow secondary vines to replace what was removed.<ref name="psu" />


Pumpkins produce both a male and female flower, with fertilization usually performed by bees.<ref name="psu" /> In America, pumpkins have historically been ] by the native ], ''Peponapis pruinosa'', but that bee has ], probably partly due to ] (]) sensitivity.<ref name="williams">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Roger|url=http://projects.ipm.gov/ProjectDetails.cfm?project_ID=749|title=Effects of imidacloprid-based Insecticides on the Native Cucurbit Pollinator, ''Peponapis pruinosa''|publisher=US Interagency IPM Projects|year=2009|access-date=September 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028112305/https://projects.ipm.gov/ProjectDetails.cfm?project_ID=749|archive-date=October 28, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ground-based bees, such as squash bees and the ], are better suited to manage the larger pollen particles that pumpkins create.<ref name="canto">{{cite journal|last1=Canto-Aguilar|first1= M.L. |last2=Parra-Tabla|first2= V. |year=2000|title=Importance of Conserving Alternative Pollinators: Assessing the Pollination Efficiency of the Squash Bee, ''Peponapis limitaris'' in ''Cucurbita moschata'' (Cucurbitaceae)|journal= Journal of Insect Conservation|volume= 4|issue=3|pages=201–208|doi=10.1023/A:1009685422587|bibcode= 2000JICon...4..201C |s2cid= 9891755 }}</ref><ref name="tepedino">{{cite journal | last1 = Tepedino | first1 = V. J. | date=April 1981 | title = The pollination efficiency of the squash bee (''Peponapis pruinosa'') and the honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') on summer squash (''Cucurbita pepo'') | journal = Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 359–377 | jstor = 25084168}}</ref> One hive per acre (0.4 hectares, or five hives per 2 hectares) is recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If there are inadequate bees for pollination, gardeners may have to ]. Inadequately pollinated pumpkins usually start growing but fail to develop.
===Giant Pumpkins===
The largest pumpkins are ''Cucurbita maxima''. They were culminated from the hubbard squash genotype, crossed with kabocha-pumpkin types by enthusiast farmers through intermittent effort since the early 1800s. As such germplasm is commercially provocative, a U.S. legal right was granted for the rounder phenotypes, levying them as constituting a variety, with the appellation "]." Processually this phenotype graduated back into the public domain, except now it had the name Atlantic Giant on its record (see USDA PVP # 8500204).


=== Production ===
“Weigh-off” competitions for giant pumpkins are a popular festival activity. 460 pounds held the world record for the largest pumpkin until 1981 when Howard Dill(of ]) broke the record with a pumpkin near 500 pounds. Dill patented the seeds used to grow this giant pumpkin, deeming them Dill’s Atlantic Giant seeds, and drawing growers from around the world. ] is accredited for all of the giant pumpkins today, most of which are borne from crossing and re-crossing his patented seed with other varieties. <ref>Raver, Anne. "In the Pumpkin Patch, an Orange Thumb." New York Times 18 Oct. 2007, sec. F: 6. </ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:12em; text-align:center;"
By 1994 the Giant Pumpkin crossed the 1000 pound mark. In September 2007, Joe Jutras (of ]) obtained the title of world’s largest pumpkin with a 1,689 pound, cream colored fruit.<ref name="worldrecord"></ref> He is currently said to be working on producing a giant orange pumpkin, as orange pumpkins tend to be smaller and have thinner shells, but are more desirable in appearance. <ref>Raver, Anne. "In the Pumpkin Patch, an Orange Thumb." New York Times 18 Oct. 2007, sec. F: 6. </ref>
|+ Pumpkin production<br><small>2022, (millions of tonnes)<br/></small>
|-
| {{CHN}} || 7.3
|-
| {{UKR}} || 1.1
|-
| {{RUS}} || 1.1
|-
| {{USA}} || 1.0
|-
| {{MEX}} || 0.7
|-
| {{ESP}} || 0.7
|-
| '''World''' || '''22.8'''
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |<small>Source: ] of the ]</small><ref name="faostat">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title= Pumpkin production in 2022 (includes squash and gourds), Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity (pick lists)|date=2024|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>
|}


In 2022, world production of pumpkins (including squash and gourds) was 23 million ]s, with China accounting for 32% of the total. Ukraine, Russia, and the United States each produced about one million tonnes.<ref name=faostat/>
The size increases of giant pumpkins are produced by hybridizing their seeds. {{Fact|date=December 2007}}


==== In the United States ====
==Uses==
]]]
===Cooking===
As one of the most popular crops in the United States, in 2017 over {{convert|1.5|e9lb|e6kg|order=flip|abbr=off}} of pumpkins were produced.<ref name="psu">{{cite web |first1=Gregory |last1=Astill |title=Pumpkins: Background & Statistics |year=2018 |publisher= United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service |access-date=December 2, 2018 |url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/newsroom/trending-topics/pumpkins-background-statistics/}}</ref> The top pumpkin-producing ] include ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="illinoisext" /> Pumpkin is the state squash of ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=Rosie (Ed.) |title=Texas Almanac 2022-2023 |date=2022 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=9781625110664 |page=23}}</ref>
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Pumpkin, raw| kJ=56| protein=1.0 g | fat=0.1 g | satfat=0.05 g | monofat=0.01 g | polyfat=0.01 g | carbs=6.5 g | fiber=0.5 g | | sugars=1.36 g | sodium_mg=1 | iron_mg=0.8 | calcium_mg=21 | magnesium_mg=12 | phosphorus_mg=44 | potassium_mg=340 | zinc_mg=0.32 | vitA_ug= 369| betacarotene_ug=3100 |vitC_mg=9 | vitE_mg=1.06 | vitK_mcg=1.1 | pantothenic_mg=0.298 | vitB6_mg=0.061 | folate_ug=16 | thiamin_mg=0.05 | riboflavin_mg=0.110 | niacin_mg=0.6 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking, from the fleshy shell, to the seeds, to even the flowers, most parts of the pumpkin are edible. Traditionally, pumpkin is a very popular ] and ] staple. Although most people use store bought canned pumpkin, home-made pumpkin puree can serve the same purpose. <ref>Roberts, Tammy. "The Many Uses of Pumpkin." Food & Fitness 7 Aug. 2006. 10 Feb. 2008 <http://www.missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/nut107.htm>. </ref>


According to the ], 95 percent of the U.S. crop intended for processing is grown in Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |author=Illinois Department of Agriculture |title=Illinois Leads Nation in Pumpkin Production |url=http://www.agr.state.il.us/newsrels/r1022041.html |date=October 22, 2004}}</ref> Indeed, 41 percent of the overall pumpkin crop for all uses originates in the state, more than five times that of the nearest competitor, California, whose pumpkin industry is centered in the ]; and the majority of that comes from five counties in the central part of the state.<ref name=wherethepumpkinsgrow>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/map-where-america-s-pumpkins-come-n1281963|title=Map: Where America's pumpkins come from|first=Elliot|last=Ramos|work=]|date=October 22, 2021|access-date=October 31, 2021}}</ref> ], operating under the brand name ], produces 85 percent of the processed pumpkin in the United States at their plant in ].
When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked, steamed, or roasted. Often, it is made into various kinds of ] which is a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holiday. Pumpkins that are still small and green may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable ]/]. Pumpkins can also be eaten ] or incorporated into ]. In the ], pumpkin is used for sweet dishes; a well-known sweet delicacy is called ''halawa yaqtin''. In South Asian countries like ], pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar, and spices; this dish is called ''kadu ka halwa''. In ], pumpkin is often roasted in conjunction with other vegetables. In ], small pumpkins are served in savory dishes, including ]. In ], small pumpkins are steamed with custard inside and served as a ]. In Italy it can be used, with cheeses, as a savory stuffing for ravioli.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} And also, pumpkin can be used to flavor both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.


In the fall of 2009, rain in Illinois devastated the ] pumpkin crop, which, combined with a relatively weak 2008 crop depleting that year's reserves, resulted in a shortage affecting the entire country during the Thanksgiving holiday season.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Jerry |last1=Hirsch |title=Pumpkin pie could become scarce after Thanksgiving |newspaper=] |date=November 18, 2009 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-18-fi-pumpkin18-story.html|access-date=June 2, 2015}}</ref> Another shortage, somewhat less severe, affected the 2015 crop.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/pumpkin-shortage-in-the-us-has-canada-to-the-rescue/58621/|title=News - Pumpkin shortage in the U.S. has Canada to the rescue - The Weather Network|website=www.theweathernetwork.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2015/11/26/thanksgiving-pumpkin-shortage/|title=Here's What Happened to the Great Pumpkin Shortage of 2015|website=Fortune}}</ref>
===Pumpkin seeds===
{{Main|Pepita}}
Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are small, flat, green, edible seeds. Most pumpkin seeds are covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin varieties produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack that can be found hulled or semi-hulled at most grocery stores, however, roasting pumpkin seeds (usually scooped out of ]s) is a popular ] treat. Pumpkin seeds have many health benefits, some of which include a good source of ], ] and other ], and are even said to lower ]. <ref>"Pumpkin Seeds." World's Healthiest Foods. 2008. The George Mateljan Foundation. 11 Feb. 2008 <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=food&spicedbid=82#healthbenefits>. </ref> One gram of pumpkin seed protein contains as much ] as a full glass of milk.<ref>""</ref>


The pumpkin crop in the western United States, which constitutes approximately three to four percent of the national crop, is grown primarily for the ] market.<ref>{{cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |title=Libby's Warns of a Canned Pumpkin Shortage |url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/libbys-warns-of-a-canned-pumpkin-shortage/ |work=The New York Times |date=November 17, 2009}}</ref> ], has a substantial pumpkin industry, centered largely on miniature pumpkins.<ref name=wherethepumpkinsgrow/> Illinois farmer ] is called "the Pumpkin Queen of America" and sells around five million pumpkins annually, predominantly for use as Jack-o-lanterns.<ref name=pr>{{cite news|url=https://www.produceretailer.com/article/news-article/pumpkins-decoration-delicacy|title=Pumpkins: from decoration to delicacy|work=Produce Retailer|date=August 25, 2017|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322015137/https://www.produceretailer.com/article/news-article/pumpkins-decoration-delicacy|archive-date=March 22, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/elaine-reeves-for-love-of-gourd/news-story/f60577a9e47a8fe1d006dbd8409e714a|title=Elaine Reeves: For love of gourd|newspaper=The Mercury|date=March 4, 2017|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref>
====Pumpkin seed oil====

== Nutrition ==
{{nutritionalvalue
| name=Pumpkin, raw
| kJ=109
| water=91.6 g
| protein=1 g
| fat=0.1 g
| carbs=6.5 g
| fiber=0.5 g
| sugars=2.76 g
| calcium_mg=21
| iron_mg=0.8
| magnesium_mg=12
| phosphorus_mg=44
| potassium_mg=340
| sodium_mg=1
| zinc_mg=0.32
| manganese_mg=0.125
| vitC_mg=9
| thiamin_mg=0.05
| riboflavin_mg=0.11
| niacin_mg=0.6
| pantothenic_mg=0.298
| vitB6_mg=0.061
| folate_ug=16
| vitA_ug=426
| betacarotene_ug=3100
| lutein_ug=1500
| vitE_mg=0.44
| vitK_ug=1.1
| note=
}}
In a {{convert|100|g|adj=on}} amount, raw pumpkin provides {{convert|26|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of food energy and is an excellent source (20% or more the ], DV) of provitamin A ] and ] (47% DV) (table). ] is present in moderate content (10% DV), but no other ]s are in significant amounts (less than 10% DV, table). Pumpkin is 92% water, 6.5% ], 0.1% ] and 1% ] (table).

== Uses ==
=== Culinary ===
{{See also|List of squash and pumpkin dishes}}
] is a popular way of preparing pumpkin]]
]
Most parts of the pumpkin plant are edible, including the fleshy shell, the seeds, the leaves, and the flowers. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, steamed, or roasted.

==== Shell and flesh ====
In North America, pumpkins are part of the traditional autumn harvest, eaten roasted, as ]<ref>Stavely, Keith W.F. and Fitzgerald, Kathleen. ''America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8078-2894-7}}</ref> and in soups and ]. ] is a traditional staple of the Canadian and American ] holidays.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=C. Michael |last=Hogan |year=2011 |url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Thanksgiving?topic=49578 |title=Thanksgiving |encyclopedia=] |publisher=]}}</ref> Pumpkin purée is sometimes prepared and frozen for later use.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://missourifamilies.org/features/nutritionarticles/nut199.htm |title=Many uses for pumpkin |first=Tammy |last=Roberts |work=MissouriFamilies |publisher=University of Missouri Extension}}</ref>

==== Flowers ====
]
In the ] and Mexico, pumpkin and squash flowers are a popular and widely available food item. They may be used to garnish dishes, or dredged in a batter then fried in oil.

==== Leaves ====
Pumpkin leaves are also eaten in ], where they are called {{transliteration|my|chibwabwa}} and are boiled and cooked with ] paste as a side dish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pumpkin Leaves Chibwabwa|url=http://www.fao.org/in-action/inpho/resources/cookbook/detail/en/c/862/|publisher=]|access-date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>

==== Seeds ====
{{Main|Pumpkin seed}}
]
Pumpkin seeds, also known as ''pepitas'', are edible and nutrient-rich. They are about 1.5&nbsp;cm (0.5&nbsp;in) long, flat, asymmetrically oval, light green in color and usually covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin varieties produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack that can be found hulled or semi-hulled at grocery stores. Per ounce serving, pumpkin seeds are a good source of ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3141/2 |title=Nutrition facts for pumpkin seeds, whole, roasted, without salt |work=SELF Nutritiondata |publisher=] |access-date=September 1, 2012}}</ref>

==== Pumpkin seed oil ====
{{Main|Pumpkin seed oil}} {{Main|Pumpkin seed oil}}
Pumpkin seed oil is a thick oil ] from roasted seeds that appears red or green in color.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kreft |first1=S. |last2=Kreft |first2=M. |year=2007 |title=Physicochemical and physiological basis of dichromatic colour |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=94 |pages=935–939 |doi=10.1007/s00114-007-0272-9 |pmid=17534588 |issue=11|bibcode=2007NW.....94..935K |s2cid=33069967 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaernbach |first1=C. |last2=Dörre |first2=C. |year=2006 |title=On the color of transparent substances, in Current Psychological Research in Austria |journal=Proceedings of the 7th Scientific Conference of the Austrian Psychological Society (ÖGP) |editor-first1=B. |editor-last1=Gula |editor-first2=O. |editor-last2=Vitouch |location=Klagenfurt |url=http://www.uni-kiel.de/psychologie/emotion/team/kaernbach/lehre/bio/kaernoel.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104031033/http://www.uni-kiel.de/psychologie/emotion/team/kaernbach/lehre/bio/kaernoel.pdf |archive-date=November 4, 2009 }}</ref> When used for cooking or as a salad dressing, pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its robust flavor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tyler Herbst |first=Sharon |title=The New Food Lover's Companion |edition=3rd |publisher=Barron |year=2001 |chapter=Pumpkin-Seed Oil |page=550 |access-date=February 14, 2008 |chapter-url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/5068383}} {{dead link|date=May 2022}}</ref> Pumpkin seed oil contains ]s such as ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu07/pdfs/bavec185-189.pdf |title=Oil Pumpkins: Niche for Organic Producers |vauthors=Bavec F, Grobelnik Mlakar S, Rozman Č, Bavec M |year=2007 |work=Issues in new crops and new uses |publisher=Purdue University Agriculture, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture |access-date=September 2, 2012}}</ref>
] is a thick, green oil that is produced from roasted pumpkin seeds. When used for cooking or as a salad dressing, pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its robust flavor. <ref>Tyler Herbst, Sharon. The New Food Lover's Companion. 3rd ed. Barron_ 2001. Pumpkin Seed Oil. 14 Feb. 2008 <http://www.credoreference.coom/entry/5068383>. </ref> It is used in cooking in central and eastern ], and long believed to be a folk remedy for ] problems, has in fact been shown to combat ].<ref name="whfoods"></ref>


=== Animal feed ===
==Activities involving pumpkins==
===Halloween===
] for ].]]
Pumpkins are commonly carved into decorative lanterns called ]s for the ] season in North America. Throughout Britain and Ireland, there is a long tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the ], ], or ].<ref>They continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004. "", ''BBC'', 31 October 2005. Retrieved on 19 October 2006. "", ''BBC'', 28 October 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2007.</ref> But not until 1837 does ''jack-o'-lantern'' appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,<ref>], "The Great Carbuncle," in '']'', 1837:
:Hide it under thy cloak, say'st thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee look like a jack-o'-lantern!</ref> and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866.<ref>''Daily News'' (Kingston, Ontario), November 1, 1866:
:The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after dark in a way which was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle.
Agnes Carr Sage, "Halloween Sports and Customs," ''Harper's Young People'', October 27, 1885, p. 828:
:It is an ancient Scottish custom to light great bonfires on Halloween, and carry blazing fagots about on long poles; but in place of this American boys delight in the funny grinning jack-o'-lanterns made of huge yellow pumpkins with a candle inside.</ref> Significantly, both occurred not in Britain or Ireland, but in North America. Historian David J. Skal writes,
:Although every modern chronicle of the holiday repeats the claim that vegetable lanterns were a time-honored component of Halloween celebrations in the British Isles, none gives any ]. In fact, none of the major nineteenth-century chronicles of British holidays and folk customs make any mention whatsoever of carved lanterns in connection with Halloween. Neither do any of the standard works of the early twentieth century.<ref>{{cite book
| first = David J.
| last = Skal
| title = Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween
| location = New York
| publisher = Bloomsbury
| year = 2002
| pages = 32
| id = ISBN 1-58234-230-X
}} The earliest reference to associate carved vegetable lanterns with Halloween in Britain is Ruth Edna Kelley, '''' (1919), Chapter 8, which mentions turnip lanterns in Scotland.</ref>


Pumpkin seed meal from ''Cucurbita maxima'' and ''Cucurbita moschata'' have been demonstrated to improve the nutrition of eggs for human consumption, and ''Cucurbita pepo'' seed has successfully been used in place of ] in chicken feed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vlaicu |first1=Petru Alexandru |last2=Panaite |first2=Tatiana Dumitra |date=2021-06-24 |title=Effect of dietary pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seed meal on layer performance and egg quality characteristics |journal=Animal Bioscience |language=English |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=236–246 |doi=10.5713/ab.21.0044 |issn=2765-0189 |pmc=8738952 |pmid=34293842}}</ref>
In America, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.<ref>As late as 1900, an article on Thanksgiving entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern as part of the festivities. "," ''The New York Times'', Nov. 24, 1895, p. 27. "," ''The New York Times'', Oct. 21, 1900, p. 12.</ref>


===Chucking=== == Culture ==
] is a competitive activity in which teams build various mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible. ]s, ]s, ]s and ]s are the most common mechanisms. Some pumpkin chuckers breed and grow special varieties of pumpkin under specialized conditions in order to improve the pumpkin's chances of surviving a throw.


=== Halloween ===
===Pumpkin festivals and competitions===
{{Main article | Jack o' lantern }}
]
] for ]]]
Pumpkin growers often compete to see whose pumpkins are the most massive. Festivals are often dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions.
In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.<ref name="NYT">, ''The New York Times'', November 24, 1895, p. 27. "", ''The New York Times'', October 21, 1900, p. 12.</ref> The practice of carving produce for Halloween originated from an Irish myth about a man named "]".<ref name="illinoisext" /> The practice of carving pumpkin ]s for the ] season developed from a traditional practice in Ireland as well as Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom of carving lanterns from the ], ], or ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4383216.stm|title=Turnip battles with pumpkin for Hallowe'en|last=Fowler|first=Julian|date=October 28, 2005|access-date=September 23, 2007|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="lntrn">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AN7WAAAAMAAJ&q=candlelit+lanterns+were+carved+from+large+turnips |title=The Oxford companion to American food and drink |page=269 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |access-date=February 17, 2011|isbn=978-0-19-530796-2 }}</ref> These vegetables continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004 reflecting the spread of pumpkin carving in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4385812.stm|title=Pumpkins Passions|date=October 31, 2005|access-date=October 19, 2006|publisher=]}}</ref>


Immigrants to North America began using the native pumpkins for carving, which are both readily available and much larger&nbsp;– making them easier to carve than turnips.<ref name="lntrn" /> Not until 1837 does ''jack-o'-lantern'' appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,<ref>{{cite book |first=Nathaniel |last=Hawthorne |author-link=Nathaniel Hawthorne |chapter=] |title=Twice-Told Tales |year=1837 |quote=Hide it under thy cloak, say'st thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee look like a jack-o'-lantern!|title-link=Twice-Told Tales }}</ref> and the carved pumpkin lantern association with Halloween is recorded in 1866.<ref>''Daily News'' (Kingston, Ontario), November 1, 1866:
], holds a big festival each year, the ]. ], holds the annual Pumpkin and Arts Festival, drawing over 250,000 visitors each year and including the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off.<ref>History of Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival</ref> Farmers from all over the west compete to determine who can grow the greatest gourd.<ref>Gargantuan Gourd Weigh-Off</ref> The winning pumpkin regularly tops the scale at more than 1200 pounds. The world record pumpkin in 2007 was 1689 pounds, grown by Joe Jutras in Topsfield, Massachusetts.<ref name="worldrecord" />


:The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after dark in a way was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle.</ref>
], the self-declared pumpkin capital of the world,<ref name="morton"></ref> has held a Pumpkin Festival since 1966. The town, where ]'s pumpkin packing plant is located (and where 90% of canned pumpkins eaten in the US are processed) carved and lit pumpkins in one place, a record which the town held for several years before losing it to ] in 2006. A large contributor of pumpkins to the festival is local ] which hosts an event called "Pumpkin ]" on their main quad. Usually held the day before the festival itself, Pumpkin Lobotomy has the air of a large party, with the school providing pumpkins and carving instruments alike (though some students prefer to use their own) and music provided by college radio station, WKNH.


The traditional American pumpkin used for jack-o-lanterns is the ] variety.<ref name="illinoisext" /><ref name="richardsonrw">{{cite web|last=Richardson|first=R. W.|url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/cgc_reports/squash95.pdf|title=Squash and Pumpkin|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System|access-date=November 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160527/http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/cgc_reports/squash95.pdf|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="ufl">{{cite web|last=Stephens|first=James M. |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv116|title=Pumpkin — Cucurbita spp.|publisher=University of Florida|access-date=November 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="baggett">{{cite web|last=Baggett|first=J. R. |url=http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgc02/cgc2-19.html|title=Attempts to Cross ''Cucurbita moschata'' (Duch.) Poir. 'Butternut' and ''C. pepo'' L. 'Delicata'|publisher=North Carolina State University|access-date=November 23, 2014}}</ref> Kentucky field pumpkin is also among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.<ref name="compleat" />
==See also==
{{commonscat|Pumpkin}}
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]


=== Chunking<!-- This is not a typo --> ===
==Gallery==
] is a competitive activity in which teams build various mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible. ]s, ]s, ]s and ] are the most common mechanisms.<ref>{{cite news| agency = Associated Press| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21197135| title = How far will a pumpkin fly?| publisher = MSNBC| date = October 25, 2007| access-date = August 7, 2009}}</ref>
<gallery>
Image:Pumpkin with stalk.jpg|Pumpkin attached to a stalk
Image:Giant_Pumpkin_Species.jpg|Common "Giant" Pumpkin variety
Image:FemalePumpkinFlower_closed_small.jpg|Immature Female Pumpkin Flower
Image:Garden_jul2006_small.JPG|Male Pumpkin Flower (Open)
Image:painted pumpkins.jpg|Painted mini pumpkins on display in ], ]
Image:Keene pumpkin festival 1.jpg|A few of the tens of thousands of pumpkins on display at the 2000 Keene ]
</gallery>


=== Pumpkin festivals and competitions ===
==References==
]'' pumpkins]]
{{reflist}}
Growers of giant pumpkins often compete to grow the most massive pumpkins. Festivals may be dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions. In the United States, the town of ], holds an annual ], including the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pumpkinfest.miramarevents.com/event-details/history.html |title=Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival: A Brief History |publisher=Miramar Events |date=2016 |access-date=October 31, 2016}}</ref>
* , The George Mateljan Foundation.
* , Illinois Department of Agriculture.
* , bigpumpkins.com.
* , list of world records.


The record for the world's heaviest pumpkin, {{convert|1247|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, was most recently set in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pumpkin weighing as much as a hippo named the world's heaviest |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/11/pumpkin-weighing-as-much-as-a-hippo-named-the-worlds-heaviest#:~:text=Minnesota%20grower%20Travis%20Gienger%20squashes,pound%20(1,247kg)%20gourd.&text=A%20monster%20pumpkin%20weighing%20the,been%20named%20the%20world's%20heaviest. |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>
==External links==

* - Pics of 150 varieties from The Great Pumpkin Patch, Arthur, IL
There's a Finnish pumpkin festival called ] (''Kurpitsaviikot''), which are held every October in ], and there, at the local field, thousands of different sizes pumpkins and carved ]s are presented to tourists.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kurpitsaviikot.fi/en|title=Kurpitsaviikot|website=kurpitsaviikot.fi|access-date=24 September 2024|language=en}}</ref>
* - backyardgardener.com, site focused on North-Eastern U.S.

* describes several varieties available in Australia.
==== Folk medicine ====
* - American pumpkin varieties, arranged by species.
Pumpkins have been used as ] by ] to treat intestinal worms and urinary ailments, and this Native American remedy was adopted by American doctors in the early nineteenth century as an ] for the expulsion of worms.<ref name="Henshaw">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMCd1yED2EUC&pg=PA105 |title=Environmental History of the Hudson River |editor= Robert E. Henshaw|location=Albany, NY |publisher=State University of New York Press |year= 2011 |isbn=978-1-4384-4026-2}}</ref>{{qualify evidence}} In Germany and southeastern Europe, seeds of ''C. pepo'' were also used as folk remedies to treat irritable bladder and ].<ref name="Schulz">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-978-3-662-09666-6 |title=Rational Phytotherapy: A Reference Guide for Physicians and Pharmacists|editor= Volker Schulz |publisher=Springer|location=Munich |edition= 5th |year= 2004 |pages=–305 |isbn=978-3-540-40832-1}}</ref><ref name="BGA">{{cite web |url=http://buecher.heilpflanzen-welt.de/BGA-Commission-E-Monographs/0309.htm |title=Pumpkin seed (Cucurbitae peponis semen) |work= Heilpflanzen-Welt Bibliothek|access-date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>{{qualify evidence}}
* - Recipe suggestions for pumpkins.

*
In China, ] seeds were also used in ] for the treatment of the parasitic disease ]<ref name="xiao">{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=S. H. |last2=Keiser |first2=J. |last3=Chen |first3=M. G. |last4=Tanner |first4=M. |last5=Utzinger |first5=J. |title=Research and Development of Antischistosomal Drugs in the People's Republic of China a 60-year review|journal=Advances in Parasitology |year=2010 |volume=73 |pages=231–295 |doi=10.1016/S0065-308X(10)73009-8 |pmid=20627145}}</ref> and for the expulsion of ]s.<ref name="Fischer">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KLd9v4hwtGgC&pg=PA283 |title= Practical Therapeutics of Traditional Chinese Medicine|first1= Yan|last1= Wu|first2= Warren|last2=Fischer |publisher=Paradigm Publications|location=Taos, NM|year=1997 |pages=282–283 |isbn= 978-0-912111-39-1}}</ref>{{qualify evidence}}

=== Folklore and fiction ===
There is a connection in folklore and popular culture between pumpkins and the supernatural, such as:
* The custom of carving jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins derives from folklore about a lost soul wandering the earth.
* In the fairy tale '']'', the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage for the title character, but at midnight it reverts to a pumpkin.
* In some adaptations of Washington Irving's ghost story '']'', the ] is said to use a pumpkin as a substitute head.

In most folklore the carved pumpkin is meant to scare away evil spirits on All Hallows' Eve (that is, Halloween), when the dead were purported to walk the earth.

==Cultivars==
{{See also|List of gourds and squashes}}
The species and varieties include many economically important cultivars with a variety of different shapes, colors, and flavors that are grown for different purposes. ''Variety'' is used here interchangeably with ''cultivar'', but not with ''species'' or taxonomic variety.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; height:auto;"
! style="width:15%;" class="unsortable"| Image
! style="width:17%;" | Name
! style="width:18%;" | Species
! style="width:10%;" | Origin
! style="width:40%;" class="unsortable"| Description
|-
|
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| The people of ] dry Al Hachi pumpkins to eat in the winter, when snowfall can isolate the valley.<ref name="kashmiratoz">{{cite news |last=Sarkar |first=Sonia |date=September 16, 2019 |title=Kashmir, from A to Z: Children's book highlights region's culture |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/kashmir-children-book-highlights-region-culture-190915140353211.html |work=] |access-date=February 4, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| United States
| Big Max can exceed {{convert|100|lb|kg}} and {{convert|20|in|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter under ideal growing conditions.<ref name="info">{{cite web|title=Pumpkin Seed&nbsp;— Big Max Pumpkin |publisher=Gurney's Seed and Nursery Company |access-date=October 7, 2009 |url=http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=66293&sid=601324&bhcd2=1254963239 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008032803/http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=66293&sid=601324&bhcd2=1254963239 |archive-date=October 8, 2011 }}</ref> The variety was hybridized for its size during the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite news|author=Earl Aronson|title=The Weeders Guide|date=January 11, 1964|newspaper=The Hartford Courant|access-date=October 7, 2009|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/919947832.html?dids=919947832:919947832&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+11%2C+1964&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=The+WEEDERS+GUIDE&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023031604/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/919947832.html?dids=919947832:919947832&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+11,+1964&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=The+WEEDERS+GUIDE&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref> Individual fruits are round to slightly flattened.<ref name="spokane-chronicle">{{cite web|title=Big Max Pumpkin is Monster|date=May 22, 1964|publisher=The Spokane Daily Chronicle|access-date=October 7, 2009|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PZgSAAAAIBAJ&pg=7178,5315473}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pumpkin|publisher=Aggie Horticulture|access-date=October 7, 2009|url=http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/pumpkin.html}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ] and ]
| The calabaza is a variety originating in ] and the ]. It is also cultivated in the ] and ].<ref name="tropical-pumpkin">{{Cite journal |last=Andres |first=T.C. |date=2019 |title=Diversity in tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata): a review of infraspecific classifications |url=https://cucurbit.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cuc2004proceedings.pdf#page=107 |journal=Progress in Cucurbit Genetics and Breeding Research}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ], possibly from an origin in ]<ref name="botanical-harvard">{{Cite journal |last=Vestal |first=Paul A. |date=1938 |title=Cucurbita Moschata Found in Pre-Columbian Mounds in Guatemala |journal=Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=65–69 |doi=10.5962/p.168392 |jstor=41762692 |s2cid=130017723 |issn=0006-8098|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| So-called for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese, this cultivar has been noted for its long storage ability as well as relatively poor culinary characteristics.<ref name="perfect-pumpkin" /><ref name="compleat" /> One of ]'s 1786 botanical illustrations depicts a fruit that has been identified with the Cheese Pumpkin.<ref name="tropical-pumpkin" />
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ]<ref name="compleat" />
| Considered to be "one of the oldest pumpkins in existence".<ref name="USDA1">{{cite web |title=Abenaki Heritage Garden |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1101651.pdf |publisher=USDA NRCS |access-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-date=June 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609150416/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1101651.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Widely used for ] decorations, either whole or as ]s.<ref name=LAT>{{cite news|title=Gardening: Trick is to Plant Now for Halloween Treat|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-re-2959-story.html|publisher=]}}</ref>
|-
|
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| The oblong, ribbed fruits weigh up to 40 pounds and are widely used for canning. Derived from the Kentucky field pumpkin by Elijah Dickinson when he moved to ] in 1835.<ref name="pumpkin-truth">{{Cite web |date=2016-09-12 |title=The Truth About "Canned Pumpkin" – Mother Earth Gardener |url=https://www.motherearthgardener.com/profiles/canned-pumpkin-zmaz12fzfol/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=www.motherearthgardener.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Libby's Select is classified either as a selection from the Dickinson Pumpkin or a selection from the same parent lineage.<ref name="best-heirloom">{{Cite web |date=2022-10-09 |title=Best Heirloom Pumpkin Varieties - Grit |url=https://www.grit.com/farm-and-garden/vegetables/pumpkin-varieties-zm0znd13zgou/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=www.grit.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="canned-pumpkin">{{Cite web |last=Laliberte |first=Marissa |date=2020-10-15 |title=What's Really in Canned Pumpkin, Anyway? |url=https://www.rd.com/article/is-canned-pumpkin-really-squash/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Reader's Digest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CooksInfo |title=Libby's Select Dickinson Pumpkins |url=https://www.cooksinfo.com/libbys-select-dickinson-pumpkins |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=CooksInfo |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Splittstoesser |first=W. E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yByu-GR4eEC |title=Vegetable Growing Handbook |date=1990-03-31 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-442-23971-8 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| Dill's Atlantic Giant was bred by ] from sources including the ] variety.<ref name="purdue">{{Cite journal |last=Janick |first=Jules |date=2008 |title=Giant Pumpkins: Genetic and Cultural Breakthroughs |url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pdfs/giant-pumpkin.pdf |journal=] |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=16–17}}</ref><ref name="nybg">{{Cite web |last=Andres |first=Thomas |date=October 26, 2010 |title=Origin of the Giant Pumpkin |url=https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/2010/10/garden-programming/origin-of-the-giant-pumpkin/ |access-date=April 11, 2021 |website=Plant Talk |publisher=New York Botanical Garden}}</ref> The variety were patented in 1979, who then went on to set the ] in 1980 with a {{cvt|459|lb}} record.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/growing-giant-pumpkins/story?id=12005986|title=Great Pumpkin: Secret to Growing Giant Gourds|date=2010-10-30|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| Galeux d'Eysines
| '']''
| ]
| The Galeux d'Eysines is mentioned in the ] vegetable catalogue ] in 1883. It is noted for peanut-sized growths on its skin, caused by a buildup of sugar. Its name may have originally been ''Brodé galeux d'Eysines'', translating to ''embroidered with scabs, from ].'' Immature pumpkins can be etched with words or designs that become warts as it matures. Galeux d'Eysines was reportedly brought to the United States in 1996 from the ] pumpkin festival in ] by author ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Galeux d'Eysines Squash |url=https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Galeux_d_Eysines_Squash_9232.php |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=specialtyproduce.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-03 |title=Peanut pumpkins - truly unique |url=https://www.morningagclips.com/peanut-pumpkins-truly-unique/ |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Morning Ag Clips |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| Japanese pie pumpkin
| '']''
| ]
| The Japanese pie pumpkin is so-called because its seeds become ], resembling to Americans the appearance of ] or ]. This variety was introduced by Samuel Wilson of ] in 1884.<ref name="compleat" />
|-
| ]
| Jarrahdale pumpkin
| '']''
| ]
| A variety with a blue-gray skin, named after the Western Australian town of ]. The Jarrahdale closely resembles the Queensland Blue. It cuts easily, and has orange, sweet-tasting flesh.<ref name="sfgate">{{cite web | url = https://homeguides.sfgate.com/growing-jarrahdale-35632.html | title = Growing Jarrahdale | last = Singleton | first = Bonnie | website = Home Guides | date = July 22, 2012 | publisher = SF Gate | access-date = December 2, 2020}}</ref><ref name="taste">{{cite web | url = https://www.taste.com.au/healthy/articles/pumpkin/by9gk5go | title = Pumpkin: the complete guide | website = taste.com.au | publisher = NewsLifeMedia | access-date = December 2, 2020}}</ref>
|-
|
| Jonathan pumpkin<ref name="compleat" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pumpkin: Cushaw White |url=https://gardenseedsandplants.com/pumpkin-cushaw-white/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=gardenseedsandplants.com}}</ref>
| '']''
|
| Available commercially as early as 1891 from ].<ref name="compleat" /> The name ''Jonathan'' may originate as a form of ] against the character of ] which was sometimes used as mocking personification of the United States by satirists in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ott |first=Cindy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJkcpAHkKHMC |title=Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon |date=2012-12-01 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-80444-6 |language=en}}</ref> ''Brother Jonathan'' was also used within the United States either as characterizing the epitome of thrift and industriousness, or an unsophisticated ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finnegan |first=Mary |date=2022-09-19 |title=Pumpkin Season, Explained |url=https://medium.com/limited-liabilities-by-colbeck/pumpkin-season-explained-865487164009 |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Limited Liabilities by Colbeck |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| ''Kabocha'' is the general Japanese word for winter squashes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vegetable.alic.go.jp/panfu/pumpkin/pumpkin.htm |title=Vegetable diagram (Kabocha) |publisher=Agriculture & Livestock Industries Corporation |access-date=22 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418170816/http://vegetable.alic.go.jp/panfu/pumpkin/pumpkin.htm |archive-date=18 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="cookinglight">{{cite web |url=http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/what-is-kabocha-squash |title=What is Kabocha Squash (Japanese Pumpkin)? |publisher=Cooking Light Magazine |access-date=22 September 2017 |archive-date=September 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923020500/http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/what-is-kabocha-squash |url-status=dead }}</ref> In English, the term "kabocha" is usually used for a green-skinned cultivar derived from ].
|-
|
| Kentucky field pumpkin
| '']''
| ], ], or the ]
| Kentucky field pumpkin is among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.<ref name="perfect-pumpkin">{{Cite book |last=Damerow |first=Gail |author-link=Gail Damerow |url=http://archive.org/details/perfectpumpkin0000dame |title=The perfect pumpkin |date=1997 |publisher=Pownal, Vt. : Storey Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-88266-993-9}}</ref> It has been classified as part of a group of ''Cucurbita moschata'' cultivars historically grown by the ] people of the United States southeast, as well as by farmers in ], ], and ]. Similar cultivars were identified in ] as well as coastal and southern ].<ref name="history-distribution">{{Cite journal |last1=Cutler |first1=Hugh C. |last2=Whitaker |first2=Thomas W. |date=1961 |title=History and Distribution of the Cultivated Cucurbits in the Americas |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/278735 |journal=American Antiquity |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=469–485 |doi=10.2307/278735 |jstor=278735 |s2cid=161495351 |issn=0002-7316}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| Musquée de Provence, Moscata di Provenza or fairytale pumpkin
| '']''
| France
| A large pumpkin from France with sweet, fragrant, deep-orange flesh often sold by the slice due to its size.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm |title=Squash |website=What's Cooking America |date=November 13, 2015 |access-date=2021-11-25}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| Seminole pumpkin
| '']''
| ]
| A landrace originally cultivated by the ] people of what is now ]. Naturalists in the 18th century recorded Seminole pumpkins growing with their vines hanging from trees.<ref name="species-crosses">{{Cite journal |last=Castetter |first=Edward F. |date=1930 |title=Species Crosses in the Genus Cucurbita |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2446379 |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=41–57 |doi=10.2307/2446379 |jstor=2446379 |issn=0002-9122}}</ref><ref name="echo-seminole">{{Cite web |title=Seminole Pumpkin |url=https://www.echocommunity.org/resources/7c4508c7-a5bd-452b-8fd9-1ed9689fc5e8 |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=ECHOcommunity |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| Styrian pumpkins ('']'' subsp. ''pepo'' var. ''styriaca'' or var. ''oleifera'') have hull-less seeds, which are used in ] and ] as part of a ] industry that presses their roasted seeds.<ref name="fürnkranz">{{cite journal | last1 = Fürnkranz | first1 = Michael | last2 = Lukesch | first2 = Birgit | last3 = Müller | first3 = Henry | last4 = Huss | first4 = Herbert | last5 = Grube | first5 = Martin | last6 = Berg | first6 = Gabriele | year = 2012 | title = Microbial Diversity Inside Pumpkins: Microhabitat-Specific Communities Display a High Antagonistic Potential Against Phytopathogens | journal = Microbial Ecology| volume = 63 | issue = 2 | pages = 418–428 | jstor = 41412429 | doi = 10.1007/s00248-011-9942-4| pmid = 21947430 | bibcode = 2012MicEc..63..418F | s2cid = 16454305 }}</ref><ref name="Košťálová">{{cite journal|last1=Košťálová|first1=Zuzana|last2= Hromádková|first2=Zdenka|last3=Ebringerová|first3=Anna|journal=Chemical Papers|date=August 2009|title=Chemical Evaluation of Seeded Fruit Biomass of Oil Pumpkin (''Cucurbita pepo'' L. var. ''Styriaca'')|volume=63|issue=4|pages=406–413|doi=10.2478/s11696-009-0035-5|bibcode=2009ChPap..63..406K |s2cid=97993637}}</ref>
|-
| ]
| ]
| '']''
| ]
| The sugar pumpkin is one of the earliest varieties of pumpkin documented by European colonists upon arrival in North America. It has sweeter flesh than the similar but larger ] from which sugar pumpkins may have been selected.<ref name="compleat" />
|}

== See also ==
* ]
* ]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote|Pumpkins}}
{{Commons category|Pumpkins}}
* {{Merriam-Webster|Pumpkin}}

{{Squashes and pumpkins}}
{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 17:21, 21 November 2024

Category of culinary winter Cucurbita squashes For other uses, see Pumpkin (disambiguation).

A pile of pumpkins at the French Market in New Orleans, Louisiana
A variety of pumpkin cultivars. The central and rightmost orange fruits are Cucurbita pepo, all others are Cucurbita maxima
A field of giant pumpkins

A pumpkin is a cultivated winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many different squashes of varied appearance and belonging to multiple species in the Cucurbita genus.

The use of the word "pumpkin" is thought to have originated in New England in North America, derived from a word for melon, or a native word for round. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "squash" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for some cultivars of Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo.

C. pepo pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, with evidence of their cultivation dating to between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE. Wild species of Cucurbita and the earliest domesticated species are native to North America (parts of present-day northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), but cultivars are now grown globally for culinary, decorative, and other culturally-specific purposes.

The pumpkin's thick shell contains edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the United States and pumpkins are frequently used as autumnal seasonal decorations and carved as jack-o'-lanterns for decoration around Halloween. Commercially canned pumpkin purée and pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin varieties from those intended for decorative use.

Etymology and terminology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word pumpkin derives from the Ancient Greek word πέπων (romanized pepōn), meaning 'melon'. Under this theory, the term transitioned through the Latin word peponem and the Middle French word pompon to the Early Modern English pompion, which was changed to pumpkin by 17th-century English colonists, shortly after encountering pumpkins upon their arrival in what is now the northeastern United States.

There is a proposed alternate derivation for pumpkin from the Massachusett word pôhpukun, meaning 'grows forth round'. This term could have been used by the Wampanoag people (who speak the Wôpanâak dialect of Massachusett) when introducing pumpkins to English Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony, located in present-day Massachusetts. (The English word squash is derived from a Massachusett word, variously transcribed as askꝏtasquash, ashk8tasqash, or, in the closely related Narragansett language, askútasquash.)

Researchers have noted that the term pumpkin and related terms like ayote and calabaza are applied to a range of winter squash with varying size and shape. The term tropical pumpkin is sometimes used for pumpkin cultivars of the species Cucurbita moschata.

Description

Cross section of a Cucurbita maxima pumpkin

Pumpkin fruits are a type of berry known as a pepo. Characteristics commonly used to define pumpkin include smooth and slightly ribbed skin and deep yellow to orange color, although white, green, and other pumpkin colors also exist.

While Cucurbita pepo pumpkins generally weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6 and 18 lb), giant pumpkins can exceed a tonne in mass. Most are varieties of C. maxima that were developed through the efforts of botanical societies and enthusiast farmers. The largest cultivars frequently reach weights of over 34 kg (75 lb). In October 2023, the record for heaviest pumpkin was set at 1,246.9 kg (2,749 lbs.).

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it . (December 2022)

The oldest evidence of Cucurbita pepo are pumpkin fragments found in Mexico that are dated between 7,000 and 5,500 BC. Pumpkins and other squash species, alongside maize and beans, feature in the Three Sisters method of companion planting practiced by many North American indigenous societies. However, larger modern pumpkin cultivars are typically excluded, as their weight may damage the other crops. Within decades after Europeans began colonizing North America, illustrations of pumpkins similar to the modern cultivars Small Sugar pumpkin and Connecticut Field pumpkin were published in Europe.

Cultivation

Pumpkins are a warm-weather crop that is usually planted by early July in the Northern Hemisphere. Pumpkins require that soil temperatures 8 centimetres (3 in) deep are at least 15.5 °C (60 °F) and that the soil holds water well. Pumpkin crops may suffer if there is a lack of water, because of temperatures below 18 °C or 65 °F, or if grown in soils that become waterlogged. Within these conditions, pumpkins are considered hardy, and even if many leaves and portions of the vine are removed or damaged, the plant can quickly grow secondary vines to replace what was removed.

Pumpkins produce both a male and female flower, with fertilization usually performed by bees. In America, pumpkins have historically been pollinated by the native squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, but that bee has declined, probably partly due to pesticide (imidacloprid) sensitivity. Ground-based bees, such as squash bees and the eastern bumblebee, are better suited to manage the larger pollen particles that pumpkins create. One hive per acre (0.4 hectares, or five hives per 2 hectares) is recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If there are inadequate bees for pollination, gardeners may have to hand pollinate. Inadequately pollinated pumpkins usually start growing but fail to develop.

Production

Pumpkin production
2022, (millions of tonnes)
 China 7.3
 Ukraine 1.1
 Russia 1.1
 United States 1.0
 Mexico 0.7
 Spain 0.7
World 22.8
Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations

In 2022, world production of pumpkins (including squash and gourds) was 23 million tonnes, with China accounting for 32% of the total. Ukraine, Russia, and the United States each produced about one million tonnes.

In the United States

A pumpkin patch in Winchester, Oregon

As one of the most popular crops in the United States, in 2017 over 680 million kilograms (1.5 billion pounds) of pumpkins were produced. The top pumpkin-producing states include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. Pumpkin is the state squash of Texas.

According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 95 percent of the U.S. crop intended for processing is grown in Illinois. Indeed, 41 percent of the overall pumpkin crop for all uses originates in the state, more than five times that of the nearest competitor, California, whose pumpkin industry is centered in the San Joaquin Valley; and the majority of that comes from five counties in the central part of the state. Nestlé, operating under the brand name Libby's, produces 85 percent of the processed pumpkin in the United States at their plant in Morton, Illinois.

In the fall of 2009, rain in Illinois devastated the Libby's pumpkin crop, which, combined with a relatively weak 2008 crop depleting that year's reserves, resulted in a shortage affecting the entire country during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Another shortage, somewhat less severe, affected the 2015 crop.

The pumpkin crop in the western United States, which constitutes approximately three to four percent of the national crop, is grown primarily for the organic market. Terry County, Texas, has a substantial pumpkin industry, centered largely on miniature pumpkins. Illinois farmer Sarah Frey is called "the Pumpkin Queen of America" and sells around five million pumpkins annually, predominantly for use as Jack-o-lanterns.

Nutrition

Pumpkin, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy109 kJ (26 kcal)
Carbohydrates6.5 g
Sugars2.76 g
Dietary fiber0.5 g
Fat0.1 g
Protein1 g
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity %DV
Vitamin A equiv.beta-Carotenelutein zeaxanthin47% 426 μg29%3100 μg1500 μg
Thiamine (B1)4% 0.05 mg
Riboflavin (B2)8% 0.11 mg
Niacin (B3)4% 0.6 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)6% 0.298 mg
Vitamin B64% 0.061 mg
Folate (B9)4% 16 μg
Vitamin C10% 9 mg
Vitamin E3% 0.44 mg
Vitamin K1% 1.1 μg
MineralsQuantity %DV
Calcium2% 21 mg
Iron4% 0.8 mg
Magnesium3% 12 mg
Manganese5% 0.125 mg
Phosphorus4% 44 mg
Potassium11% 340 mg
Sodium0% 1 mg
Zinc3% 0.32 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water91.6 g

Link to USDA Database entry
Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

In a 100-gram (3.5 oz) amount, raw pumpkin provides 110 kilojoules (26 kilocalories) of food energy and is an excellent source (20% or more the Daily Value, DV) of provitamin A beta-carotene and vitamin A (47% DV) (table). Vitamin C is present in moderate content (10% DV), but no other micronutrients are in significant amounts (less than 10% DV, table). Pumpkin is 92% water, 6.5% carbohydrate, 0.1% fat and 1% protein (table).

Uses

Culinary

See also: List of squash and pumpkin dishes
Pumpkin pie is a popular way of preparing pumpkin
Roasted pumpkin

Most parts of the pumpkin plant are edible, including the fleshy shell, the seeds, the leaves, and the flowers. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, steamed, or roasted.

Shell and flesh

In North America, pumpkins are part of the traditional autumn harvest, eaten roasted, as mashed pumpkin and in soups and pumpkin bread. Pumpkin pie is a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays. Pumpkin purée is sometimes prepared and frozen for later use.

Flowers

A pumpkin flower, one of the edible parts of the plant

In the southwestern United States and Mexico, pumpkin and squash flowers are a popular and widely available food item. They may be used to garnish dishes, or dredged in a batter then fried in oil.

Leaves

Pumpkin leaves are also eaten in Zambia, where they are called chibwabwa and are boiled and cooked with groundnut paste as a side dish.

Seeds

Main article: Pumpkin seed
Pumpkin seeds (matured)

Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are edible and nutrient-rich. They are about 1.5 cm (0.5 in) long, flat, asymmetrically oval, light green in color and usually covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin varieties produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack that can be found hulled or semi-hulled at grocery stores. Per ounce serving, pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, magnesium, copper and zinc.

Pumpkin seed oil

Main article: Pumpkin seed oil

Pumpkin seed oil is a thick oil pressed from roasted seeds that appears red or green in color. When used for cooking or as a salad dressing, pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its robust flavor. Pumpkin seed oil contains fatty acids such as oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.

Animal feed

Pumpkin seed meal from Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata have been demonstrated to improve the nutrition of eggs for human consumption, and Cucurbita pepo seed has successfully been used in place of soybean in chicken feed.

Culture

Halloween

Main article: Jack o' lantern
A pumpkin carved into a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween

In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween. The practice of carving produce for Halloween originated from an Irish myth about a man named "Stingy Jack". The practice of carving pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns for the Halloween season developed from a traditional practice in Ireland as well as Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom of carving lanterns from the turnip, mangelwurzel, or swede (rutabaga). These vegetables continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004 reflecting the spread of pumpkin carving in the United Kingdom.

Immigrants to North America began using the native pumpkins for carving, which are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips. Not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern, and the carved pumpkin lantern association with Halloween is recorded in 1866.

The traditional American pumpkin used for jack-o-lanterns is the Connecticut field variety. Kentucky field pumpkin is also among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.

Chunking

Pumpkin chunking is a competitive activity in which teams build various mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible. Catapults, trebuchets, ballistas and air cannons are the most common mechanisms.

Pumpkin festivals and competitions

Giant Cucurbita maxima pumpkins

Growers of giant pumpkins often compete to grow the most massive pumpkins. Festivals may be dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions. In the United States, the town of Half Moon Bay, California, holds an annual Art and Pumpkin Festival, including the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off.

The record for the world's heaviest pumpkin, 1,247 kg (2,749 lb), was most recently set in 2023.

There's a Finnish pumpkin festival called Pumpkin Weeks (Kurpitsaviikot), which are held every October in Salo, Finland, and there, at the local field, thousands of different sizes pumpkins and carved jack-o'-lanterns are presented to tourists.

Folk medicine

Pumpkins have been used as folk medicine by Native Americans to treat intestinal worms and urinary ailments, and this Native American remedy was adopted by American doctors in the early nineteenth century as an anthelmintic for the expulsion of worms. In Germany and southeastern Europe, seeds of C. pepo were also used as folk remedies to treat irritable bladder and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

In China, C. moschata seeds were also used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of the parasitic disease schistosomiasis and for the expulsion of tape worms.

Folklore and fiction

There is a connection in folklore and popular culture between pumpkins and the supernatural, such as:

  • The custom of carving jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins derives from folklore about a lost soul wandering the earth.
  • In the fairy tale Cinderella, the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage for the title character, but at midnight it reverts to a pumpkin.
  • In some adaptations of Washington Irving's ghost story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the headless horseman is said to use a pumpkin as a substitute head.

In most folklore the carved pumpkin is meant to scare away evil spirits on All Hallows' Eve (that is, Halloween), when the dead were purported to walk the earth.

Cultivars

See also: List of gourds and squashes

The species and varieties include many economically important cultivars with a variety of different shapes, colors, and flavors that are grown for different purposes. Variety is used here interchangeably with cultivar, but not with species or taxonomic variety.

Image Name Species Origin Description
Al Hachi Cucurbita moschata Kashmir The people of Kashmir dry Al Hachi pumpkins to eat in the winter, when snowfall can isolate the valley.
Big Max Cucurbita maxima United States Big Max can exceed 100 pounds (45 kg) and 20 in (510 mm) in diameter under ideal growing conditions. The variety was hybridized for its size during the early 1960s. Individual fruits are round to slightly flattened.
Calabaza Cucurbita moschata Cuba and West Indies The calabaza is a variety originating in Cuba and the West Indies. It is also cultivated in the Philippines and United States.
Cheese pumpkin Cucurbita moschata North America, possibly from an origin in Central America So-called for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese, this cultivar has been noted for its long storage ability as well as relatively poor culinary characteristics. One of Duchesne's 1786 botanical illustrations depicts a fruit that has been identified with the Cheese Pumpkin.
Connecticut field pumpkin Cucurbita pepo North America Considered to be "one of the oldest pumpkins in existence". Widely used for autumn decorations, either whole or as jack-o'-lanterns.
Dickinson pumpkin Cucurbita moschata North America The oblong, ribbed fruits weigh up to 40 pounds and are widely used for canning. Derived from the Kentucky field pumpkin by Elijah Dickinson when he moved to Illinois in 1835. Libby's Select is classified either as a selection from the Dickinson Pumpkin or a selection from the same parent lineage.
Dill's Atlantic Giant Cucurbita maxima North America Dill's Atlantic Giant was bred by Howard Dill from sources including the Mammoth Pumpkin variety. The variety were patented in 1979, who then went on to set the giant pumpkin in 1980 with a 459 lb (208 kg) record.
Galeux d'Eysines Cucurbita maxima France The Galeux d'Eysines is mentioned in the Vilmorin-Andrieux vegetable catalogue Les Plantes Potagères in 1883. It is noted for peanut-sized growths on its skin, caused by a buildup of sugar. Its name may have originally been Brodé galeux d'Eysines, translating to embroidered with scabs, from Eysines. Immature pumpkins can be etched with words or designs that become warts as it matures. Galeux d'Eysines was reportedly brought to the United States in 1996 from the Foire aux Potirons pumpkin festival in Tranzault, France by author Amy Goldman.
Japanese pie pumpkin Cucurbita argyrosperma Pennsylvania The Japanese pie pumpkin is so-called because its seeds become crazed, resembling to Americans the appearance of Chinese characters or Japanese kanji. This variety was introduced by Samuel Wilson of Pennsylvania in 1884.
Jarrahdale pumpkin Cucurbita maxima Australia A variety with a blue-gray skin, named after the Western Australian town of Jarrahdale. The Jarrahdale closely resembles the Queensland Blue. It cuts easily, and has orange, sweet-tasting flesh.
Jonathan pumpkin Cucurbita argyrosperma Available commercially as early as 1891 from Livingston Seed. The name Jonathan may originate as a form of melioration against the character of Brother Jonathan which was sometimes used as mocking personification of the United States by satirists in Europe. Brother Jonathan was also used within the United States either as characterizing the epitome of thrift and industriousness, or an unsophisticated bumpkin.
Kabocha Cucurbita maxima Japan Kabocha is the general Japanese word for winter squashes. In English, the term "kabocha" is usually used for a green-skinned cultivar derived from buttercup squash.
Kentucky field pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Cuba, Mexico, or the United States Kentucky field pumpkin is among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving. It has been classified as part of a group of Cucurbita moschata cultivars historically grown by the Seminole people of the United States southeast, as well as by farmers in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Similar cultivars were identified in Cuba as well as coastal and southern Mexico.
Musquée de Provence, Moscata di Provenza or fairytale pumpkin Cucurbita moschata France A large pumpkin from France with sweet, fragrant, deep-orange flesh often sold by the slice due to its size.
Seminole pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Florida A landrace originally cultivated by the Seminole people of what is now Florida. Naturalists in the 18th century recorded Seminole pumpkins growing with their vines hanging from trees.
Styrian pumpkin Cucurbita pepo Styria Styrian pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. styriaca or var. oleifera) have hull-less seeds, which are used in Austria and Slovenia as part of a pumpkin seed oil industry that presses their roasted seeds.
Sugar pumpkin Cucurbita pepo North America The sugar pumpkin is one of the earliest varieties of pumpkin documented by European colonists upon arrival in North America. It has sweeter flesh than the similar but larger Connecticut Field pumpkin from which sugar pumpkins may have been selected.

See also

References

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External links

Cucurbita
List of gourds and squashes
Species Round yellowish squash with dark green vertical stripes
Cultivars
Summer squashes
Winter squashes and pumpkins
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