Pumpkin Facts
Some Fun Pumpkin Facts
Here are some interesting pumpkin facts you might not know.
The total pumpkin production in the United States in 2006 was over one hundred million dollars.
Illinois produced almost 500 million pounds of pumpkins in 2005.
The states that produce the most pumpkins are California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois.
Pumpkin facts point out that pumpkins are used for animal feed.
According to Illinois University, ninety percent of all the United States' grown pumpkins are raised within ninety miles of Peoria, Illinois.
The majority of pumpkins are grown for processing into food. Only a small amount are grown for decorating and ornamentals.
You can roast pumpkin seeds for a tasty snack.
The pumpkin, facts confirm, contains vitamin A and potassium.
Pumpkin flowers are edible.
You can use pumpkins to make breads, pies and soups.
The biggest ever pumpkin pie was over five feet across, and it weight three hundred and fifty pounds. To make it, the bakers used twelve dozen eggs, thirty-six pounds of sugar and eighty pounds of cooked pumpkin. It took them six hours to bake it.
Pumpkin facts state that they are members of a family of vine crops called cucurbits.
The pumpkin was originally grown in Central America.
Pumpkins were once used not as a pie filling, but in making the crust of a pie.
Pumpkins in years past were a suggested remedy for curing snake bites and removing freckles.
The pumpkin typically ranges in size from over one thousand pounds to less than one pound.
The biggest pumpkin on record weighed in at 1140 pounds.
The name pumpkin came from the Greek word “pepon”, which means “large melon”.
The traditional American pumpkin is the Connecticut Field Pumpkin.
Pumpkins are about ninety percent water.
The pumpkin, facts confirm, is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Approximately eighty percent of the United States' pumpkin supply is sold in October.
Native Americans used to roast strips of pumpkin in a fire to eat.
Early colonists in the United States cut off the tops of pumpkins, took the seeds out, then poured milk, honey and spices inside. They baked this in hot ashes, and it is believed this was the original pumpkin pie.
Native Americans once used pumpkin seeds for medicine and food.
You can grow leafy vines from pumpkin seeds.
The ovaries of pumpkin flowers will swell and then grow into green, tiny pumpkins.
Each pumpkin, facts state, grows larger and changes color until it's ready for the harvest, which is about four months after it is planted.
Pumpkin colors can vary from orange to yellow to white.
Native Americans used dried pumpkin strips to weave into mats.
Pumpkins are a member of the squash family. They also belong to the family which includes zucchini and cucumbers.