30 Jan Pumpkin picking facts
If you need some tips to ensure you pick the perfect pumpkin, read on:
Choosing the Right Pumpkin
1. Firmness: Give it a squeeze, the best pumpkins should feel solid and firm, there should be no soft spots or bruises. If there are soft spots it could mean that it’s already starting to rot so, leave that one.
2. Stem check: What you’re looking for here is a sturdy, green-coloured stem. If the stem is dry and brittle it might mean it was harvested some time ago.
3. Pumpkin skin: Forget pumpkins with cuts, deep blemishes, or if they are mouldy. The skin should feel tough and should not be easily punctured.
4. Size: Size matters, you need the right sized pumpkin for the job; small ones could be good for cooking while medium to large ones are great for pumpkin carving.
For Pumpkin Carving:
- You should be looking for a pumpkin with a flat bottom, so your Halloween creation doesn’t roll around
- A pumpkin which is symmetrical makes carving a lot easier
For Eating:
- If you are looking to make soups or pies, choose a smaller pumpkin and a sweeter variety.
General Tips:
1. Do the Tap Test: Use your knuckle and give the pumpkin a firm tap, if it sounds hollow, it’s ripe and ready.
2. Stem love: You should avoid carrying the pumpkin by the stem as it can break off easily and reduce the lifespan.
3. Mud glorious mud: Many of the pumpkin patches, due to the time of year, are very muddy so, bring along wellies, waterproof trousers, gloves and a bag to put those dirty wellies in when you jump back into the car. If you have one, some kind of cart to carry your pumpkin haul in could be useful.
4. Get in early: You should try and pick your pumpkin as early in the season as possible. The best ones get snapped up quickly so go early Autumn. Don’t worry as if you follow the above steps and pick a healthy pumpkin, it’ll last quite a few weeks.
While we’re here, we thought we’d share some fun and maybe surprising facts about pumpkins:
1. The pumpkin is a fruit!
Yes, rather a large one and we think it’d be a little disturbing if they grew on trees! However, botanically speaking, pumpkins are fruits because they have seeds. In cooking though, they are often treated as a vegetable.
2. A pumpkin is around 90% water.
This relates to the fact that they are relatively light compared to their size, and they can float?!
3. They can be huge given the right growing conditions and TLC. In 2023, a 2,749 pound (1247KG/ 196 Stone) pumpkin set a world record for a pumpkin grown in Italy and broke the previous record set in 2021.
4. Where do they originate? Pumpkins are native to North America.
Pumpkins have been grown in North America for thousands of years where they were a staple diet
5. Something for everyone. There are hundreds of varieties of pumpkins.
There are a vast range of sizes, shapes and colours; blue, green, white and yes, even striped!
6. Eat the lot! Every part of a pumpkin is edible, mmm well, apart from the stem but, maybe…
You can eat the flesh, seeds, leaves, and even the flowers
7. Skin care. Apparently, pumpkins (or at least the pulp) were once used to remove freckles!
Jack-o-lanterns (the American term) started with turnips.
8. The tradition of carving a face into a pumpkin to warn away evil spirits, originated in Ireland, where people carved faces into turnips and potatoes before pumpkins became the standard.
9. Shock! Pumpkin spice doesn’t actually contain any part of a pumpkin.
The pumpkin flavour is a mix of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, there’s a surprise!
So, there you have it, you now know when and how to pick the best pumpkin when we get towards Autumn. And, you have 9 fun facts too!
Jump on our pick your own pumpkin page for information about our pumpkin patch.