Pumpkin power: one of the earliest explored foods

While passing through an empty ground my son pointed out the place where we went for pumpkin patch last year. As a kid he thought about that ground as his playground and me as a chef going there for delicious and huge pumpkins. That’s what inspired me to write about this humble food item and its health benefits. Pumpkin is a round, smooth with slightly ribbed skin and deep yellow to orange colouration fruit. Yes, pumpkin from a botanist’s perspective is a fruit because it is the product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plant. Vegetables on the other hand are the edible portions of the plant like, leaves, tubers, roots and bulbs. The thick outer shell contains the seeds and pulp. Mainly pumpkin pulp and seeds are edible. Native to North America Pumpkins are widely grown for commercial use and are used both in food and recreation as ‘jack o lanterns’.
Pumpkins have been cultivated in Central America since 5000BC and were one of the earliest foods the European explored. Within few decades they were grown in England where they were called ‘pompons’ due to their rounded form. Pumpkins then quickly became part of England’s highly developed pie making culture, which had for centuries been producing complex stuffed pastries in sweet and savoury varieties. Sailors then carried pumpkin with them to America and people started liking the taste and started cultivating them. In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
In United States pumpkin go hand in hand with the holiday season around the corner. This orange, nutritious and versatile fruit features flowers, seeds and flesh that are edible and rich in vitamins. I started eating pumpkins about 10 years back when I joined cruise ship and tasted authentic pumpkin soup for the first time. Pumpkins are widely used for making soups, desserts, bread and pies. Carving pumpkin to make jack o lantern is popular among kids and they are fascinated with its carved-out shapes. Pumpkins are a member of the gourd family which includes cucumbers, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melons. These plants are native to America but grow on six continents. There are several pumpkin related annual competitions like largest pumpkin, pumpkin pie making competition, pumpkin carrying and many more. The record for the largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2005 and the pie weighed 2020 pounds.
Pumpkins are low in calories, fat and sodium and high in fibre. Pumpkins are 90 percent water. They are a good source of Vitamin A, B and potassium, protein and iron. They can be your ideal diet food in several forms including soup, stew, and salads. Pumpkin seeds are used for their medicinal properties and stored in dry form for later use. Sometimes pumpkin seeds are used as thickening agent in stews and soups. The ideal season for panting pumpkin seeds is in the last week of May and the middle of June. They take approx. 90 to 120 days to grow and are packed in October when they are bright orange in colour. The seeds are preserved to grown pumpkins next year. The record for the heaviest pumpkin ever weighed at 1810 lb. and was presented by Chris Stevens at harvest fest in still water, Minnesota in October 2010.

Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Pumpkin puree 2 cups
Eggs 2 no.
Castor sugar 1/3 cup
Brown sugar ½ cup
Salt ½ tsp
Cinnamon powder 2 tsp
Ginger powder 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder ¼ tsp
Clove powder ¼ tsp
Cardamom powder 1/8 tsp
Lemon zest ½ tsp
Heavy cream 2 cups
Pie crust 1 no.

Method
To make pumpkin puree, cut pumpkin lengthwise and remove the seeds, rub oil on pumpkin
Place on a lined baking tray and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to 1 hour
Check by piercing a fork, if the skin comes loose, remove from oven, allow to cool down and scoop out the pulp from the skin
Whisk eggs in a large bowl, mix in the brown sugar, white sugar, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, cardamom and lemon zest
Add the prepared pumpkin puree and mix well
Add cream, and stir until everything is well mixed
Pour the prepared filling into an uncooked pie shell
Bake in a preheated oven at 400-degree Fahrenheit for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350-degree Fahrenheit and bake for 40-45 minutes
To check the doneness of the pie, pierce a knife, if it comes out relatively clean, the pie is cooked
Cool the pumpkin pie on a wire rack for 1-2 hours
Cut the pie into desired shape and garnish with whipped cream

Note: You can easily find readymade pie shell in almost all hypermarkets