Fun Pumpkin Facts

The pumpkin has a very long and rich history. What follows are several fun (and interesting) pumpkin-related facts. Many of them will no doubt surprise you!

Pumpkins are members of the gourd family, along with watermelons, honeydew and zucchini.
Pumpkins are actually a fruit. But, just like tomatoes, they often get lumped in with vegetables because of the way they’re used in cooking.
You can grow pumpkins almost anywhere in the world. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
Every part of the pumpkin including the leaves, seeds and flowers are edible.
Pumpkins are comprised of 90 percent water. This means they’re low in both fat and calories.
Pumpkins are a source of several vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to stay healthy. This includes Vitamin A, Vitamin B and potassium.
It takes between 90 and 120 days for a pumpkin to grow to full size from a seed. This means they are typically ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving, when you plant them at the beginning of June.
90 percent of the pumpkins, grown in the United States each year, are ready to harvest just in time for Halloween.
While most pumpkins are orange, some varieties are red, white and even green.
While pumpkin pie is the most popular way to eat pumpkin, you can use them in all kinds of dishes like pumpkin soup and steamed pumpkin.
The average pumpkin weighs around 10 pounds. However, farmers have produced massive pumpkins weighing in at well over 1, 000 pounds!
The Halloween tradition of carving spooky jack-o’-lanterns out of pumpkins is believed to come from an Irish tradition of carving faces on potatoes and turnips.
As surprising as this may sound, Colonial Americans used pumpkin as a pie crust ingredient… not a filling.
The smallish town of Morton, Illinois has the distinction of being the “pumpkin capital” of the world. It’s where the Libby Corporation is located.
At one time, Native Americans were very dependent on pumpkins. They both ate the seeds and used them as a form of medicine. They use dried strips of pumpkin to make mats.

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