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In the News - October 2009
Pumpkins: The Cinderella vegetable
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Though grown and savored in the New World for thousands
of years, most Americans don't think of pumpkins as much more than a potential
jack o' lantern or Thanksgiving pie.
The vegetable, which has gained more respect in Europe and Asia, is
experiencing something of a renaissance in the United States as foodies try to
satisfy a hunger for more exotic and subtle flavors.
"Around the world, pumpkins are grown and eaten and for many things beyond
jack o' lanterns," said Craig Andersen, extension horticulture
specialist-vegetables, for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
"The flesh is nutritious and a good source of vitamin A and carbohydrates.
Baked, steamed, roasted used in every thing from risotto to curries."
Nearly all of the pumpkin is edible.
"The seeds are used as snacks, roasted and eaten. In Mexico, these are called
'pepitas,' and are also an important component of green mole (MOE-lay)," he
said. "The seeds can be pressed to create a high-quality oil that can be used
for cooking and salads.
"The blossoms are stuffed, used in tempura, soups, and quesadillas," Andersen
said.
"Pumpkin" is a common name for four Cucurbita species that are members of the
squash gourd family.
"They were a critical part of Native American agriculture known as 'the three
sisters' - corn, beans and squash - and have been grown in the Americas for
thousands of years, while less than 500 years in the rest of the world," he
said. "In other parts of the world, they are called pumpkins, marrows, winter
squash and courgettes."
Gourmands looking for the best eating varieties should seek out Lumina, Long
Island Cheese and Cinderella, also known by its French name Rouge vif d'etampes.
"They're all wonderful eating - sweet and flavorful," Andersen said
"Cinderella is an old French variety that was all the rage in Paris in the
1850s," he said. "It's a low, squatty bright red to bright orange pumpkin
- the
one that was turned into Cinderella's coach by the good fairy. It's a wonderful
eating pumpkin."
A new version of Long Island Cheese is Rumba, named after the squat round
robot vacuum cleaner, whose shape the pumpkin resembles. The same goes for the
Long Island Cheese, so named, not for its color or texture, but because it
resembles a wheel of cheese.
"Lumina" is unique for pumpkin - a ghostly white on the outside with orange
flesh, Andersen said.
Andersen professes to favoring Cinderella. "It has a real dense flesh and
when you pick one, it's a real heavy pumpkin," he said. "It roasts exceptionally
well. I just like them roasted - with that sweet roasted flavor."
For fans of pumpkin seeds, Andersen said there are confectionery pumpkin
varieties with seeds that don't have to be shelled. These are the seeds that
show up in trail mixes, candy and as pepitas for mole-making.
"Pumpkins are a great way to stretch the food dollar," he said. "They're very
nutritious and store well."
A few pumpkin facts:
- Once Halloween is past these squash and pumpkins will store for
many weeks, keep them dry, above 55 degrees, and on cardboard, wood or
straw, not concrete.
- "Lastly, if you want to grow a world record giant pumpkin, you need
to beat Christy Harp of Jackson Township, Ohio, who grew a 1,725-pound
pumpkin this year," Andersen said. That pumpkin was actually a Dill's
Atlantic Giant Squash.
For information about growing pumpkins at home, visit
www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-6074.pdf. For a profile on
Dill's
Atlantic Giant, see
www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/
Dills_Atlantic_Giant_Pumpkin.htm.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture and offers its programs to all eligible persons
regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability,
marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
(Eds: With 1022KeepingJack; art available on Division of Agriculture
photostream; www.uaex.edu, select For the Media, the Photos)
October 22, 2009
Media Contact: Elizabeth Fortune
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
efortune@uaex.edu
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