Featured Ingredient: Pumpkin
Sugar pumpkins ready for carving and eating at the farmers market.
Does anyone else imagine a big round pumpkin as the O in October when autumn rolls around? There are few things as delightful as the giant, bright orange squash glinting in the autumn sun, or glowing from within through a carved grimacing face. October is one of the few times of year we are actually encouraged to play with our food here in the U.S., a tradition that began far from our shores.
Like all squash, pumpkins are members of the gourd family,(Cucurbitaceae), which also includes cucumbers and zucchini. They are one of the oldest farmed foods, rivaling maize, (corn), as the longest cultivated crop in the western hemisphere. The oldest domesticated pumpkin seeds were discovered by archeologists in the Oaxaca Highlands in Mexico, though they are believed to have originated in Central America some 7,500 years ago. Original pumpkins were not incredibly delicious, with a bitter flavor and extremely hard exterior. Much like their cousins the watermelon, pumpkins were prized for their ability to store over winter during months of scarcity. American colonists relied heavily on pumpkins for survival, as evidenced by this goofy poem written in 1630:
“For pottage and puddings and custard and pies,
Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies:
We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon,
If it were not for pumpkins, we should be undoon.”
Pumpkins didn’t shift from an essential food staple to seasonal decor until relatively recently in American history. The tradition of carving pumpkins was brought to the U.S. by Irish immigrants, who originally carved Jack-o-lanterns into turnips. In an Irish myth, a trickster named “Stingy Jack,” fooled the devil numerous times. When he died and appeared at the gates of hell, the devil, still miffed, refused to let him enter. Instead, he condemned Jack to wander in the nighttime with nothing but a burning lump of coal to light his way. According to legend, Jack placed the coal in a carved out turnip that illuminates his path as he eternally wanders the earth.
Know what’s even spookier then the story of Jack and his lantern? The amount of food waste generated from uneaten pumpkins during halloween! In the U.S. alone, 1 billion pounds of pumpkin get tossed out, contributing to the nearly 30.3 million tons of food waste generated each year in this country. Don’t get us wrong, carving and enjoying Jack-o-lanterns brings us as much joy as the next person, but before you toss all those good innards and seeds, find a good recipe for pumpkin pie or pepitas!