They float on it, make helmets for motorcyclists and weave rugs from it. And what else have we not heard about this amazing vegetable … or is it a berry?
1. What are you?
Botanists cannot define pumpkin in any way. On the one hand, it is sweet and could be considered a fruit. But on the other hand, according to all biological indicators, it is similar to a berry (like a watermelon), but who would dare to call a 100-kilogram pumpkin a berry? And in cooking, it is used more like a vegetable. In general, in the scientific literature, it is more often indicated as a berry, and in everyday life, pumpkin is considered a vegetable.
2. Not round or orange
If you think that pumpkin is only orange or grayish-green, then you are very mistaken. Now breeders grow a wide variety of species of this crop: for example, blue, white, orange-beige with stripes, green, round, oval, guitar-shaped.
3. Originally from Mexico
In those places, they began to cultivate it like this 5 years ago. Large fruits were well known in other Indian tribes. Pumpkin was eaten, fed to domestic animals, from the pulp they made lotions for sick fellow tribesmen, and they also used it in their primitive home interior, so to speak, dried the peel and weaved rugs, for example. And Christopher Columbus brought her to Europe.
4. Omnipresent
The pumpkin has shown itself to be so unpretentious and adaptable to any climate culture (it does not grow except in the conditions of the Far North) that it is included in the menu of many nations of the world. It is boiled, fried, baked, pickled, desserts, jam, baked goods, garnish, juice, salad, etc. are made.
5. Big family
The closest relatives of the pumpkin by the genus of the pumpkin family are melons, watermelons, zucchini, cucumbers, squash.
6. Almost water
Pumpkin is 90 percent water, its calorie content is only 25 calories per 100 grams of product.
7. Lucky in love
With the help of pumpkin seeds, you can bewitch a man. At least medieval sorceresses added them to love potions.
8. Unrealistic benefits
Pumpkin contains half (if not more) of all known vitamins and minerals, which makes it a very healthy product. Carotene is good for vision; iron, which in pumpkin is almost half the daily value of an adult, helps in metabolic processes, the hematopoietic system, immunity and many other important functions. Pumpkin also contains a rare trace element K. And natural carnitine prevents obesity.
9. Everybody sleep!
Pumpkin juice is considered a mild sleeping aid. This dietary product is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B6, E, carotene, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and organic acids. Such a set helps to normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract, increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood, and strengthens the cardiovascular system.
10. Freckle cure
Once people believed in the miraculous power of a pumpkin, which can heal from a snake bite, remove freckles from the skin and revive the departed male power. Later, scientists decomposed the plant and the fruit into parts, found, among other things, a trace element zinc, which is able to slightly discolor the skin, and generally have a positive effect on the body, but you should not overestimate the healing properties of pumpkin.
11. In the name of youth
The pumpkin contains an abundance of vitamins A and E, the main helpers in the struggle for youth and beauty.
12. Not to fat
35 large pumpkins – on average it takes that much to squeeze out just one (!) Liter of oil. This is the key to why he is so dearly valued.
13. Completely edible
A very rational and practical plant for housewives is pumpkin: in addition to the pulp of the fruit, you can also eat flowers (they are fried, stuffed, desserts and salads are made), leaves (added to borscht, salads, making medicinal decoctions), seeds.
14. Magic seeds
Raw pumpkin seeds not only expel parasites from the intestines, but also help pregnant women get rid of such an unpleasant condition as toxicosis.
15. Forever single
In the south of Russia, with the help of the fruit, they could drive away the unwanted groom from the house – a pumpkin, or a tavern in the local dialect, was taken out on the porch, so that it would be clear without words: you, sir, are not welcome here. Your business is a tavern.
16. Democracy Incarnate
Remember what Cinderella’s carriage turned into after the ball? By the way, the storyteller Charles Perrault remembered the pumpkin for a reason – in the XNUMXth century, this vegetable was literally in every French house – both royal and peasant.
17. Laughing pumpkin
Pumpkin is used to make not only oils and all kinds of dishes, but also alcohol.
18. Don’t click!
There is such an extraordinary variety – gymnospermous pumpkin. Its peculiarity is in seeds without dense husks.
19. Degree of maturity
The more ripe the pumpkin fruit, the less starch and more sugar it contains. A berry grown under the bright sun will be of better quality. If the crop is not harvested before the cold weather, then this will not spoil the pumpkin, it will only be sweeter. But she is, of course, afraid of frost.
20. For safety’s sake
In Africa, it is used to make helmets for motorcyclists. We have not seen such a picture in person, so perhaps it was just someone’s joke.
21. Terrible beast
We will not say about Africa, but in English-speaking countries, with the filing of Great Britain and Ireland on Halloween, masks and creepy lamps are made from pumpkins. Although initially in ancient rites, instead of pumpkins, there were turnips or beets.
22. Have you sailed?
In America, boats are made from pumpkins! But this is only for one match. In the fall, after the harvest, themed festivals are held there with competitions for the largest pumpkin grown. The weight of some specimens reaches 300-500 and even more kilos. After weighing, a watercraft is made from the pumpkin, and the first person to sail to the finish line on such a vessel is entitled to a prize.
23. Anti-monkey remedy
In India, a sacred animal is a cow, and they don’t know how to fight off annoying monkeys there. More precisely, they know one trick. They came up with traps: a small hole is made in the pumpkin and grits are poured. The minx puts her foot in there, picking up the grains, squeezes the fist and cannot pull it back out.
24. The pumpkin method
Each farmer has his own plan for growing plants. And at agricultural fairs popular in Europe and America, they share their methods. This circumstance formed the basis of the book on how to build a strong business, “The Pumpkin Method” is called.
25. Orange porridge
Porridge with pumpkin is probably the most popular dish with this vegetable in Russian cuisine. Therefore, one of the most common varieties suitable for stewing and cooking is called “Russian porridge”.