The ocre-cheeked pumpkin is one of the few vegetables native to North America. Seeds from familial plants that date back to around 7,000 BC have been found in Mexico, and there are plentiful records of its use as a staple in Native American cooking for centuries before Europeans arrived on the continent. As such, it is no surprise that it continues to hold a special place in the fall and winter diet and lifestyle of the modern American.
The sweetest and most luscious of the squash cultivars, the pumpkin is not the most pleasant food when eaten raw. It is hard and tough, although it is made up of about 92 percent water. However, it is transformed with even a small amount of heat. Pumpkins can be grilled, baked, steamed, boiled and roasted. In modern culture, pumpkin puree is commonly incorporated into pie, bread, cake, pudding, soup, dip, sauce, pasta, beer and the fall seasonal coffee drink of Starbucks’ fame: the pumpkin spice latte, or PSL, if you’re cool.
Raw pumpkin is an exceptional source of beta-carotene (20 percent Daily Value, DV) and vitamin A (53 percent DV), but the flesh isn’t the only part you can eat. Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, are delicious raw and roasted. I prefer them hulled, raw and thrown into a salad or pesto. They are nutrient dense in protein, magnesium, copper and zinc.
Oil pressed from roasted pumpkin seeds could also benefit hair loss, skin elasticity, menopause, overactive bladder and high blood pressure, although we are only in the beginning stages of documented research.
Pumpkins are also a conspicuous aspect of Western autumnal tradi-tions, particularly Halloween. The practice of carving jack o’lanterns originated in Ireland with the fable of “Stingy Jack” and his devious deals with the devil led to him wan-dering the earth as a lost soul. The tale originally involved Jack placing a burning coal given him by the devil into a carved out pumpkin to light his way. To this day in the U.K., turnips, potatoes and large beets are still carved with scary faces, lit and placed in windows and doors during Halloween. However, immi-grants to the U.S. discovered early on that pumpkins make perfect jack o’lanterns, especially the large ones. Now, they are essential to fall décor in the U.S. whether you celebrate the Oct. 31 cultural holiday or not, and their color is associated with the turning of the leaves, regardless of your municipality.
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Most families have a pumpkin recipe that has been passed down through generations. Perhaps it’s spiced seeds or pumpkin butter, but it’s most likely pumpkin pie. It is said that this quintessential Thanksgiving dessert began when early American colonists cut off the top of a pumpkin, cleaned it out, filled it with milk, spices and honey and then baked it in hot ashes. There are now so many variations to this simple pastry, but my favorite has to be pumpkin ginger cheesecake, made with gingersnap crust and a touch of maple. Go to nspiremagazine.com for this recipe, as well as one for pumpkin sausage curry. N
By S. Michal Bennett
Photography By Joel Riner
As Featured In: 2019 Winter/Spring SPO Edition