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A pumpkin is a cultivar winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many different squashes of varied appearance and belonging to multiple species in the Cucurbita genus.
The use of the word "pumpkin" is thought to have originated in New England in North America, derived from a word for melon, or a native word for round. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "Cucurbita" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for some cultivars of Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo.
C. pepo pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, with evidence of their cultivation dating to between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE. Wild species of Cucurbita and the earliest domesticated species are native to North America (parts of present-day northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), but cultivars are now grown globally for culinary, decorative, and other culturally-specific purposes.
The pumpkin's thick shell contains edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the United States and pumpkins are frequently used as autumnal seasonal decorations and carved as jack-o'-lanterns for decoration around Halloween. Commercially canned pumpkin purée and pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin varieties from those intended for decorative use. (2003). 9780203912911, CRC Press. ISBN 9780203912911
There is a proposed alternate derivation for pumpkin from the Massachusett word pôhpukun, meaning 'grows forth round'. This term could have been used by the Wampanoag people (who speak the Wôpanâak dialect of Massachusett) when introducing pumpkins to English Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony, located in present-day Massachusetts. (The English word Cucurbita is derived from a Massachusett word, variously transcribed as askꝏtasquash, ashk8tasqash, or, in the closely related Narragansett language, askútasquash.)
Researchers have noted that the term pumpkin and related terms like ayote and calabaza are applied to a range of winter squash with varying size and shape. (2025). 9780387722917, Springer. ISBN 9780387722917 The term tropical pumpkin is sometimes used for pumpkin cultivars of the species Cucurbita moschata.
While Cucurbita pepo pumpkins generally weigh between , can exceed a tonne in mass. Most are varieties of Cucurbita maxima that were developed through the efforts of botany and enthusiast farmers. The largest frequently reach weights of over . In October 2023, the record for heaviest pumpkin was set at 1,246.9 kg (2,749 lbs.).
Pumpkins produce both a male and female flower, with fertilization usually performed by bees. In America, pumpkins have historically been pollination by the native squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, but that bee has declined, probably partly due to pesticide (imidacloprid) sensitivity. Ground-based bees, such as squash bees and the Bombus impatiens, are better suited to manage the larger pollen particles that pumpkins create. One hive per acre (0.4 hectares, or five hives per 2 hectares) is recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If there are inadequate bees for pollination, gardeners may have to hand pollination. Inadequately pollinated pumpkins usually start growing but fail to develop.
| + Pumpkin production 2022, (millions of tonnes) | |
| 7.3 | |
| 1.1 | |
| 1.1 | |
| 1.0 | |
| 0.7 | |
| 0.7 | |
| 22.8 | |
| Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations | |
In 2022, world production of pumpkins (including squash and gourds) was 23 million , with China accounting for 32% of the total. Ukraine, Russia, and the United States each produced about one million tonnes.
According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 95 percent of the U.S. crop intended for processing is grown in Illinois. Indeed, 41 percent of the overall pumpkin crop for all uses originates in the state, more than five times that of the nearest competitor, California, whose pumpkin industry is centered in the San Joaquin Valley; and the majority of that comes from five counties in the central part of the state. Nestlé, operating under the brand name Libby's, produces 85 percent of the processed pumpkin in the United States at their plant in Morton, Illinois.
In the fall of 2009, rain in Illinois devastated the Libby's pumpkin crop, which, combined with a relatively weak 2008 crop depleting that year's reserves, resulted in a shortage affecting the entire country during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Another shortage, somewhat less severe, affected the 2015 crop.
The pumpkin crop in the western United States, which constitutes approximately three to four percent of the national crop, is grown primarily for the organic food market. Terry County, Texas, has a substantial pumpkin industry, centered largely on miniature pumpkins. Illinois farmer Sarah Frey is called "the Pumpkin Queen of America" and sells around five million pumpkins annually, predominantly for use as Jack-o-lanterns.
Immigrants to North America began using the native pumpkins for carving, which are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips. Not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern, and the carved pumpkin lantern association with Halloween is recorded in 1866. Daily News (Kingston, Ontario), November 1, 1866:
The traditional American pumpkin used for jack-o-lanterns is the Connecticut field variety. Kentucky field pumpkin is also among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving.
The record for the world's heaviest pumpkin, , was most recently set in 2023.
A festival called Pumpkin Weeks ( Kurpitsaviikot) is held every October in Salo, Finland, at which thousands of different-sized pumpkins and carved jack-o'-lanterns are presented to tourists.
In China, C. moschata seeds were also used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of the parasitic disease schistosomiasis and for the expulsion of .
In most folklore the carved pumpkin is meant to scare away evil spirits on All Hallows' Eve (that is, Halloween), when the dead were purported to walk the earth.
In the United States
As one of the most popular crops in the United States, in 2017 over of pumpkins were produced. The top pumpkin-producing states include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. Pumpkin is the state squash of Texas. (2025). 9781625110664, Texas State Historical Association. ISBN 9781625110664
Nutrition
In a amount, raw pumpkin provides of food energy and is an excellent source (20% or more the Daily Value, DV) of provitamin A beta-carotene and vitamin A (47% DV) (table). Vitamin C is present in moderate content (10% DV), but no other are in significant amounts (less than 10% DV, table). Pumpkin is 92% water, 6.5% carbohydrate, 0.1% fat and 1% protein (table).
Uses
Culinary
Most parts of the pumpkin plant are edible, including the fleshy shell, the seeds, the leaves, and the flowers. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, steamed, or roasted.
Shell and flesh
In North America, pumpkins are part of the traditional autumn harvest, eaten roasted, as mashed pumpkinStavely, Keith W.F. and Fitzgerald, Kathleen. America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. and in soups and pumpkin bread. Pumpkin pie is a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holidays. Pumpkin purée is sometimes prepared and frozen for later use.
Flowers
In the southwestern United States and Mexico, pumpkin and squash flowers are a popular and widely available food item. They may be used to garnish dishes, or dredged in a batter then fried in oil.
Leaves
Pumpkin leaves are also eaten in Zambia, where they are called and are boiled and cooked with groundnut paste as a side dish.
Seeds
Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are edible and nutrient-rich. They are about 1.5 cm (0.5 in) long, flat, asymmetrically oval, light green in color and usually covered by a white husk, although some pumpkin varieties produce seeds without them. Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack that can be found hulled or semi-hulled at grocery stores. Per ounce serving, pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, magnesium, copper and zinc.
Pumpkin seed oil
Pumpkin seed oil is a thick oil pressed from roasted seeds that appears red or green in color. When used for cooking or as a salad dressing, pumpkin seed oil is generally mixed with other oils because of its robust flavor. Pumpkin seed oil contains such as oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
Animal feed
Pumpkin seed meal from Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata have been demonstrated to improve the nutrition of eggs for human consumption, and Cucurbita pepo seed has successfully been used in place of soybean in chicken feed.
Culture
Halloween
In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween. The Day We Celebrate: Thanksgiving Treated Gastronomically and Socially, The New York Times, November 24, 1895, p. 27. " Odd Ornaments for Table", The New York Times, October 21, 1900, p. 12. The practice of carving produce for Halloween originated from an Irish myth about a man named "Stingy Jack". The practice of carving pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns for the Halloween season developed from a traditional practice in Ireland as well as Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom of carving lanterns from the turnip, mangelwurzel, or rutabaga. These vegetables continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004 reflecting the spread of pumpkin carving in the United Kingdom.
Chunking
Pumpkin chunking is a competitive activity in which teams build various mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible. , , and air blaster are the most common mechanisms.
Pumpkin festivals and competitions
Growers of giant pumpkins often compete to grow the most massive pumpkins. Festivals may be dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions. In the United States, the town of Half Moon Bay, California, holds an annual Art and Pumpkin Festival, including the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
Folk medicine
Pumpkins have been used as folk medicine by Native Americans to treat intestinal worms and urinary ailments, and this Native American remedy was adopted by American doctors in the early nineteenth century as an anthelmintic for the expulsion of worms. In Germany and southeastern Europe, seeds of C. pepo were also used as folk remedies to treat irritable bladder and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Folklore and fiction
There is a connection in folklore and popular culture between pumpkins and the supernatural, such as:
Music
Vegetable orchestras, such as the London Vegetable Orchestra use zucchini trumpets, butternut squash trombones, pumpkin drums and Eggplant castanets. Other vegetables played include carrots, Bell pepper, Potato and Parsnip.
Cultivars
The species and varieties include many economically important cultivars with a variety of different shapes, colors, and flavors that are grown for different purposes. Variety is used here interchangeably with cultivar, but not with species or taxonomic variety.
Al Hachi Cucurbita moschata Kashmir The people of Kashmir dry Al Hachi pumpkins to eat in the winter, when snowfall can isolate the valley. Big Max Cucurbita maxima United States Big Max can exceed and in diameter under ideal growing conditions. The variety was hybridized for its size during the early 1960s. Individual fruits are round to slightly flattened. Calabaza Cucurbita moschata Cuba and West Indies The calabaza is a variety originating in Cuba and the West Indies. It is also cultivated in the Philippines and United States. Cheese pumpkin Cucurbita moschata North America, possibly from an origin in Central America So-called for its resemblance to a wheel of cheese, this cultivar has been noted for its long storage ability as well as relatively poor culinary characteristics. One of Duchesne's 1786 botanical illustrations depicts a fruit that has been identified with the Cheese Pumpkin. Connecticut field pumpkin Cucurbita pepo North America Considered to be "one of the oldest pumpkins in existence". Widely used for autumn decorations, either whole or as jack-o'-lanterns. Dickinson pumpkin Cucurbita moschata North America The oblong, ribbed fruits weigh up to 40 pounds and are widely used for canning. Derived from the Kentucky field pumpkin by Elijah Dickinson when he moved to Illinois in 1835. Libby's Select is classified either as a selection from the Dickinson Pumpkin or a selection from the same parent lineage. Dill's Atlantic Giant Cucurbita maxima North America Dill's Atlantic Giant was bred by Howard Dill from sources including the Mammoth Pumpkin variety. The variety were patented in 1979, who then went on to set the giant pumpkin in 1980 with a record. Galeux d'Eysines Cucurbita maxima France The Galeux d'Eysines is mentioned in the Vilmorin-Andrieux vegetable catalogue Les Plantes Potagères in 1883. It is noted for peanut-sized growths on its skin, caused by a buildup of sugar. Its name may have originally been Brodé galeux d'Eysines, translating to embroidered with scabs, from Eysines. Immature pumpkins can be etched with words or designs that become warts as it matures. Galeux d'Eysines was reportedly brought to the United States in 1996 from the Foire aux Potirons pumpkin festival in Tranzault, by author Amy Goldman. Japanese pie pumpkin Cucurbita argyrosperma Pennsylvania The Japanese pie pumpkin is so-called because its seeds become Crazing, resembling to Americans the appearance of Chinese characters or Kanji. This variety was introduced by Samuel Wilson of Pennsylvania in 1884. Jarrahdale pumpkin Cucurbita maxima Australia A variety with a blue-gray skin, named after the Western Australian town of Jarrahdale. The Jarrahdale closely resembles the Queensland Blue. It cuts easily, and has orange, sweet-tasting flesh. Jonathan pumpkin Cucurbita argyrosperma Available commercially as early as 1891 from Livingston Seed. The name Jonathan may originate as a form of melioration against the character of Brother Jonathan which was sometimes used as mocking personification of the United States by satirists in Europe. Brother Jonathan was also used within the United States either as characterizing the epitome of thrift and industriousness, or an unsophisticated Yokel. Kabocha Cucurbita maxima Japan Kabocha is the general Japanese word for winter squashes. In English, the term "kabocha" is usually used for a green-skinned cultivar derived from buttercup squash. Kentucky field pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Cuba, Mexico, or the United States Kentucky field pumpkin is among the pumpkin cultivars grown specifically for jack-o-lantern carving. It has been classified as part of a group of Cucurbita moschata cultivars historically grown by the Seminole people of the United States southeast, as well as by farmers in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Similar cultivars were identified in Cuba as well as coastal and southern Mexico. Musquée de Provence, Moscata di Provenza or fairytale pumpkin Cucurbita moschata France A large pumpkin from France with sweet, fragrant, deep-orange flesh often sold by the slice due to its size. Seminole pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Florida A landrace originally cultivated by the Seminole people of what is now Florida. Naturalists in the 18th century recorded Seminole pumpkins growing with their vines hanging from trees. Styrian pumpkin Cucurbita pepo Styria Styrian pumpkins ( Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. styriaca or var. oleifera) have hull-less seeds, which are used in Austria and Slovenia as part of a pumpkin seed oil industry that presses their roasted seeds. Sugar pumpkin Cucurbita pepo North America The sugar pumpkin is one of the earliest varieties of pumpkin documented by European colonists upon arrival in North America. It has sweeter flesh than the similar but larger Connecticut Field pumpkin from which sugar pumpkins may have been selected.
See also
External links
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