Food

20 Amazing Facts About Pumpkins

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The pumpkin plant is very important for agriculture. It is used for food, some of its varieties are grown as animal feed, and representatives of certain nations make a variety of things from pumpkins, sometimes very unusual. These fruits are very diverse, and they readily take root in a wide variety of conditions, demonstrating powerful abilities for survival.

  1. The world’s largest pumpkin is gigantic. The record weight specimen was grown in Belgium, and its weight was more than a ton – 1190 kg.
  2. In South America, the Indians cultivated pumpkins long before the arrival of the Europeans.
  3. These plants are both annual and perennial. There are only about 100 species of annuals.
  4. From the point of view of botany, pumpkin, like watermelon, belongs to berries.
  5. Soups, pastries, and many other dishes are made from pumpkin in different countries.
  6. In total, there are now about 800 varieties of this plant in the world, but only a quarter of them can be eaten.
  7. Modern pumpkins appeared on Earth very recently, about 7000 years ago. Most likely, they were bred by the first breeders from among the ancient people.
  8. The homeland of the pumpkin is Mexico. Since then, this plant has spread throughout the world.
  9. Due to the high content of vitamins A and E, regular consumption of pumpkin in food slows down the aging process.
  10. Vitamin T in pumpkins helps the body absorb heavy foods more easily.
  11. The iron content of pumpkin pulp is higher than that of any other vegetable.
  12. On average, pumpkin is 90% water. The exact value depends on the plant variety.
  13. In Germany, in the city of Ludwigsburg, a pumpkin festival is held every autumn.
  14. Zucchini, cucumbers, and watermelons are botanically related to pumpkin plants.
  15. Since ancient times, the Irish have carved lanterns for the Samhain holiday, which became the prototype of Halloween, from rutabagas. In the United States, their descendants decided that pumpkin was easier to carve because of its softness.
  16. French explorer Jacques Cartier, the first among Europeans to discover pumpkins, mistook them for giant watermelons.
  17. The flowers of some types of pumpkins are quite edible.
  18. In ancient times, many healers believed that pumpkin helped with snake bites. In fact, this is not the case.
  19. Fresh pumpkin juice is a natural sleep aid.
  20. Pumpkin seeds are very useful, and the seeds of a fully ripe pumpkin are an order of magnitude more useful than seeds of a young one.
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