Veg of the month for November: Pumpkins
* Pumpkins’ size and colour gives them real personality, bolstered by their association with Halloween and with Thanksgiving. It’s an old tradition to make Halloween lanterns by putting a candle in a hollowed-out vegetable with a cut-out face. Until fairly recently a swede, turnip or large potato would have been used, but pumpkins have taken over, and pumpkin carving has developed into quite an art. (For more about this visit www.halloweenpumpkins.be)
* The Pilgrim Fathers, fleeing religious persecution in Britain, landed at Cape Cod in Massachusetts USA in 1620. Unfortunately they had little experience of farming or gardening, and half the settlers died in the first winter. That the rest survived was largely due to help from the local Native American tribe who, among other things, introduced them to nutritious and easily stored pumpkins. The first Thanksgiving feast was held in October 1621, and pumpkin has been a feature of the celebrations ever since.
* Pumpkins are a type of squash, a group of vegetables derived from three different species. Cucurbita pepo comes from the cooler parts of Mexico, and has given rise to summer squashes, courgettes and marrows, small types of pumpkin, and gourds. C. moschata comes from warmer, moister parts of Mexico and has been developed into winter squashes such butternuts.
C. maxima, ancestor of the giant pumpkin, comes from Peru and was a staple food of the Incas.
* Pumpkins are also closely related to cucumbers, gherkins, melons and water melons. They are all cucurbits, members of the cucumber family.
* Pumpkins are a great favourite for giant vegetable competitions. The current world record holder weighed in at 782kg. That’s about 10 times the weight of the person who grew it. To see a picture go to www.pumpkinnook.com, where you can also find the recipe for Harry Potter’s pumpkin milkshake.
* Pumpkin seeds make a delicious snack and are very nutritious, containing protein, oil, vitamins and minerals. It’s probable that the first pumpkin-like plants to be cultivated were bitter gourds grown for their nutritious seeds, and only later were sweet-fleshed varieties selected.
* As well as the familiar orange pumpkins, there are squashes in many colours from blue-green to cream, including striped, spotted and marbled varieties. The fabulous display put on by the Upton family, who grow pumpkins commercially in a small Sussex village, gives an idea of the range.