Fun and Freakish Facts
DID YOU KNOW...
• Pumpkins have been growing in North America for more than
5,000 years. Aboriginal peoples had been eating them for several
centuries before the arrival of the Pilgrims.
• Pumpkins are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B, potassium, protein, iron and fiber. (Eat up!)
• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) were a celebrated food of the Native American Indians.
• Around the time of the first Thanksgiving (1621) it was traditional to serve baked pumpkin filled with milk, honey and spices.
• The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on pumpkin vines are edible.
• Pumpkin was once recommended as a cure for freckles and a remedy for snake bites.
• The largest pumpkin pie on record is a
2,020-pounder baked up in 2006 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers
of Ohio. They used 900 pounds of pumpkin, 300 pounds of
sugar, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs and two pounds of
pumpkin pie spice.
•
Jack-o'-lanterns
originated in Ireland where children used to hollow out turnips and
light them with coals or candles. The glowing turnips were placed
outside of homes to ward off evil spirits, particularly "Jack," a
legendary villain so evil, he was rejected by both God and Satan.
• The
Irish Potato Famine (1845-1850) prompted over 700,000 Irish to
immigrate to the United States. Since turnips were not as readily available in the U.S. as their homeland, they
used pumpkins for their jack-o'-lanterns instead. Today the carved pumpkin is the most
popular symbol of the Halloween holiday.
• Halloween pumpkins will keep longer if you coat them inside and out with antiseptic spray.