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My Name is Pumpkin

© Mary M. Alward

Hi! My name is pumpkin. No, it's not a nickname. I'm the big orange fruit that grows in gardens and farmers' fields. I stopped by to tell you about myself and my ancestors. We've been around for 9,000 years.

People call me pumpkin, but I'm really a fruit. I belong to the Cucurbita family. I'm often confused with a gourd. My close relatives are squash, cucumbers and cantaloupes. I'll tell you a bit more about that later.

The first references to me go back a long time. My ancestors were called "pompians (pom-pee-ans)." The name comes from the Greek word "peopon," which means "cooked by the sun." My name appeared in the fairy tale, "Cinderella." It was written in the 17th Century. That was 400 years ago.

Today, pumpkins are grown on every continent in the world, except Antarctica. My immediate family (pumpkins) are very popular. People eat us in stews, pies, soups, casseroles, puddings, stews and breads. We're very nutritious and taste delicious.

Nine thousand years ago, pumpkins grew mainly in Mexico. My ancestors were used for food in that country in 5500 B.C. (before Christ) The Native Americans used pumpkins as a food staple (basic food) before Europeans came to North America. They found a variety (many different) of ways to eat our light orange meat. We were fried, dried, boiled, baked and roasted. Not one bite of a pumpkin was wasted, with the exception of the stem. Native peoples added our blossoms to soups and stews. They dried and crushed us to make flour. Our seeds were roasted for a tasty treat. We helped the Natives get through the long, cold winters by providing them with lots of nourishment for their bodies.

Many people say pumpkins are vegetables. That is not correct. We are really fruits. Anything that has seeds inside is a fruit. This includes tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green peppers, and zucchini. Anything that grows on a vine and has a hard, protective shell belongs to the gourd (Cucurbita) family. This includes pumpkins, squash, melons and cucumbers, as well as others.

When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World (America) in 1492, he took pumpkin seeds back to Europe. The people there didn't realize we were good to eat. They planted seeds and grew pumpkins, but instead of making delicious recipes, they fed us to their pigs. I'm sure the pigs enjoyed us, but those people sure missed out by never eating pumpkin pie or fried pumpkin blossoms.

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