Pumpkin Talk

In the spirit of Halloween and the fall season I went to a pumpkin farm today. It's one of those big family farms, so numerous here in the U.S. where the orange pumpkin we all love at Halloween originated, that grow pumpkins for the fall harvest and open themselves to the public of various activities related to pumpkins. Look below and you'll see me there (Leipold Farm) with some of the many types of pumpkins. There has been an explosion of the marketing and sale of the types of pumpkins, besides that big orange one, over the years.

Most of them are not eaten without preparation, though the small "pie pumpkin" variety is free of most of the bitterness associated with pumpkins. Some people prefer to eat the yellow flowers from a pumpkin vine to the pumpkin meat itself. I have never eaten that, so I can't say. In early America during the 17th and 18th centuries pumpkins were used, not as the ingredient of pumpkin pie, but instead,  as one of the ingredients of the pie crust.  Hmmm  They also used them to remove freckles. I had plenty of freckles as a kid and think that they just faded as I got older. I doubt that my interactions with pumpkins made them go away.

I always use pumpkins for fall decoration, placing them by my fireplaces and at the entrance of the front door. Thus, I have learned which picked pumpkins for sale are the best ones to use. One year I bought a pumpkin in October that I placed outside that lasted until late May.  So before buying am pumpkin know your "stuff". Buy one that does not have any cuts, soft spots or bruising as these things can cause rot to set in quickly on a pumpkin. The pumpkin shell should feel hard and not have any give when you put pressure on it.  Also make sure the stem is still attached and not falling off the pumpkin.

I hate it when the check-out person at a market grabs the pumpkin by the stem, so I handle the pumpkin myself at check-out time. Grabbing a pumpkin by the stem damages the pumpkin. It's like holding a baby by the foot. You will should find a cool and dry place and do not handle the pumpkin often. Storing them that way will toughen the pumpkins rinds and make them less prone to rot. It's why putting them outside in the shade of the door entrance is like putting your just bought lamb chops in the refrigerator. They just keep longer that way.

This is probably too much useless information about a subject which you have little interest. As Linus once said to Charlie Brown in the comic strip 'Peanuts".... “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”