National Pumpkin Day recognizes a favored autumn decoration and food on October 26th. Not only do they make great fall decorations, but the pumpkin also completes a variety of tasty recipes.
- 1621 – Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in 1621.
- early 1800s – The conventional pumpkin pie we know today did not appear in American cookbooks until the early 1800s.
- 1837 – The Halloween connection dates back to the 1800s. The term “jack-o’-lantern” first appeared in 1837, while the idea of a carved pumpkin, specifically, originated in 1866.
- 1896 – The Olympics held swimming competitions in the open sea. Competitors had to race toward the shore, while a string of hollowed-out, floating pumpkins served as lane markers.
- 1900 – A published article on celebrating Thanksgiving recommends a lit jack-o’-lantern as part of the festivities. The writer also encourages kids and families to join together to make their own jack-o’-lanterns. (The U.S. did not fully embrace Halloween until the 1920s.)
- 1986 – the state of Delaware started the annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin (WCPC), held on the first full weekend after Halloween.
- 2003 – Starbucks exec Peter Dukes, who arrived at the company with a BA in Economics and an MBA from Stanford, comes up with a new idea for a fall espresso flavor. As it happens, Dukes and his former Cardinal basketball teammates used to alternate sips of espresso with bites of pumpkin pie. Do you see where we’re going here? Starbucks has now sold more than 350 million pumpkin spice lattes in 50 countries.
- 2009 – Heavy rain in Illinois devastates the pumpkin crop just one year after a relatively weak 2008 crop. The combination results in a shortage affecting the entire country during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Another shortage, somewhat less severe, affected the 2015 crop.
- 2019 – Per Boston television station WBZ, Connecticut resident Alex Noel sets a new record for the heaviest pumpkin at the annual Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts. The pumpkin, which weighed in at just over one ton, earned the grower a whopping $8,000. Now that’s scary.
- 2021 – Italian Stefano Cutrupi claimed the title of the world’s largest pumpkin when his gargantuan gourd weighed in at 2703 pounds (1,226 kg). That’s 300 pounds heavier than the 2014 winner from Switzerland.
- This squash is native to North America. The oldest evidence of pumpkin-related seeds dates back to somewhere between 7000 and 5500 BC to seeds found in Mexico.
- The word pumpkin originates from the word pepon, which means “large melon” in Greek.
- The United States produces 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins, with Illinois producing more than any other state.
- Morton, Illinois, is the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”
- Morton is home to Libby’s, the producer of 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin!
- Each pumpkin contains about 500 seeds.
- There are more than 45 different types of pumpkin, with fun names like Baby Bear, Spooktacular, Ghost Rider, Tricky Jack, and Sweetie Pie.
- Pumpkin may be recommended by veterinarians as a dietary supplement for dogs and cats. Since pumpkin is easy to digest, if your pet is experiencing certain digestive ailments, don’t be surprised if your vet says to give them pumpkin puree.
- Poultry also benefits from eating raw pumpkins as a supplement to their regular feed during the winter months to help maintain egg production.
- Not only are they one of the best-known sources of beta-carotene (an antioxidant converted to vitamin A in the body), but pumpkins are loaded with fiber, potassium, and vitamin C.
- Around 80% of the US’ pumpkin crops are available during October.
- Pumpkins consist of 90% water.
- Like tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers, it’s hard to imagine that pumpkins are fruits.
- The Halloween tradition of making jack-o’-lanterns traces back to the Celtic celebrations of Scotland and parts of Ireland. Originally, people made jack-o’-lanterns with turnips and mangel beets. When the early settlers arrived in America, they carried the carving traditions but used pumpkins instead because they were abundant and easier to carve.
- Pumpkins contain edible seeds inside that you can peel like nuts, but other varieties may also have seeds that don’t require peeling. These seeds come packed with protein, fats, and dietary fiber. They’re also rich in vitamins and minerals such as iron, niacin, zinc, and magnesium.
- Circleville, Ohio holds the biggest annual festival in the United States dedicated to pumpkins.
- In the 1980s, Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, California sold the first commercially brewed pumpkin ale based on George Washington’s brewing studies.
- The word “pumpkin” showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella.
- Early settlers dried pumpkin shells, cut them into strips, and wove them into mats.
- Pumpkins were once considered a remedy for freckles and snakebites.
- The high content of potassium in pumpkins can help lower blood pressure and protect against age-related hearing loss associated with drops in potassium levels in the body as we age.
- Pumpkin pie is America’s favorite Thanksgiving dessert, with 36% of us preferring it to other traditional options like pecan, apple, or sweet potato.
- During World War II, many Americans grew “Victory Gardens” to supplement their grocery rations. Pennsylvania’s The Victory Garden Handbook from 1944 recommended growing and eating pumpkins for their nutritional value.
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