1) A winter squash, not a pumpkin, butternut pumpkins are related to cucumbers, squash and melons.
2) Root to stem eating – the flesh, skin, seeds and even the flowers on the pumpkin vine can be eaten.
3) Fat-free, a great source of beta-carotene and vitamin C, and a good source of fibre – 100g pumpkin has about 185kJ.
4) Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are high in zinc and omega-3 fatty acids. Pumpkins have about 500 seeds each.
5) Butternut pumpkins are pear-shaped with golden brown skin and a dense, dry, sweet-tasting flesh.
6) Their name comes from Charles Leggett, an amateur breeder from Massachusetts, USA, who described them as ‘smooth as butter, sweet as a nut’.
7) Store whole pumpkins in a cool, dark place for up to two months. Cut pumpkin should be wrapped in plastic and used within five days.
8) Pumpkins are 90% water. The bigger the pumpkin the higher the water content, so pumpkins grown for their size are usually not the best-tasting.
9) Pumpkin seeds first arrived in Australia with the First Fleet in 1788. Pumpkins were to be grown as fodder for livestock, but the early settlers ended up relying on them for food.
10) Pumpkin is extremely versatile – it can be used in sweet and savoury dishes and can be steamed, mashed, sautéed, baked or fried.
Did you know?
- Butternut pumpkinis classified as a fruit and not a vegetable. It’s no-waste eating at its best as all parts of the pumpkin are edible.
- Brightly coloured yellow flesh means a sweet taste.
