16 Little Known Pumpkin Facts You Probably Did Not Know
What do pumpkins have to do with freckles and snakebites? What state grows the most pumpkins annually? We have the answers!
Quick Reference: Pumpkin Facts
- What it is: a pumpkin is a fruit and a member of the squash family, the Curcurbita family.
- The name: “pumpkin” traces back to the Greek word pepon, meaning a “large melon.”
- Where it began: pumpkins originated in Central America.
- Pumpkin Capital: Morton, Illinois, home of Libby’s pumpkin industry.
- Biggest on record: 2,517.5 pounds, grown in 2019 by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York.
By late September the roadside stands fill up with them, and by Thanksgiving they are on the table in one form or another. Most folks carve a pumpkin or bake it into a pie without ever stopping to think about where it came from or how it earned its place in the fall. Below are 16 little known pumpkin facts, the kind of trivia that holds up at the harvest table, gathered from the patch, the history books, and the record books. If you came for the season’s other sweet trivia, our candy corn facts and trivia make a good companion read.
16 Little Known Pumpkin Facts
- The word “pumpkin” comes from the Greek word pepon, which means a “large melon.”
- Pumpkins originated in Central America.
- Pumpkins are actually a fruit. Many people think it should be our national fruit.
- Pumpkin is also a squash, a member of the Curcurbita family.
- The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on the pumpkin vine are edible.
- Pumpkin seeds taste great roasted and contain medicinal properties.
- Native Americans grew and ate pumpkins and their seeds long before the Pilgrims reached this continent. Pilgrims learned how to grow and prepare pumpkins from the Native Americans.
- Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Native Americans in 1621.
- The earliest pumpkin pie made in America was quite different than the pumpkin pie we enjoy today. Pilgrims and early settlers made pumpkin pie by hollowing out a pumpkin, filling the shell with milk, honey and spices and baking it.
- Early settlers dried pumpkin shells, cut them into strips and wove them into mats.
- Pumpkin has been prepared in a variety of ways from soups to stews to desserts since the immigration of the first European settlers.
- The “Pumpkin Capital of the World” is Morton, Illinois. Home of Libby’s pumpkin industry.
- The state of Illinois grows the most pumpkins. It harvests about 12,300 acres of pumpkins annually.
- The latest U.S. record (2019) for the largest pumpkin ever grown weighed in at 2,517.5 pounds by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York.
- Pumpkins were once considered a remedy for freckles and snakebites.
- Natural medicine practitioners have proven that consuming pumpkin seeds reduces the risk of prostate disorders in men.
Fruit or Vegetable? The Honest Answer
This is the one that wins bets at the dinner table. A pumpkin is botanically a fruit, since it grows from the flower of the plant and carries the seeds inside. It is also a squash, a member of the Curcurbita family, which puts it in good company with zucchini, gourds, and winter squash. The cook treats it like a vegetable in the kitchen, but the gardener and the botanist call it a fruit. Both camps are right in their own way, which is why so many people think the humble pumpkin deserves to be named our national fruit.
From the First Thanksgiving to Your Table
Pumpkin has a longer run on this continent than most of the food on the holiday table. Native Americans grew and ate pumpkins and their seeds long before the Pilgrims reached these shores, and the Pilgrims learned how to grow and prepare them from the Native Americans. Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, though it looked nothing like the slice you will have this November.
The earliest pumpkin pie made in America was a different dish entirely. Pilgrims and early settlers hollowed out a whole pumpkin, filled the shell with milk, honey, and spices, and baked it in the coals. Nothing went to waste either. Early settlers dried pumpkin shells, cut them into strips, and wove them into mats. From those first years on, pumpkin found its way into soups, stews, and desserts, a habit that has held since the immigration of the first European settlers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Information Center still tracks the squash family among the season’s most nutritious crops.
Where Pumpkins Grow Best
If pumpkins have a hometown, it is Morton, Illinois, the self-styled “Pumpkin Capital of the World” and home of the Libby’s pumpkin industry. The title is more than a slogan. The state of Illinois grows the most pumpkins in the country, harvesting about 12,300 acres of them every year. Much of that crop never sees a porch step; it goes straight into the cans of pumpkin that fill grocery shelves come fall.
| Pumpkin Fact | The Detail |
|---|---|
| Pumpkin Capital of the World | Morton, Illinois, home of Libby’s pumpkin industry |
| Top pumpkin-growing state | Illinois, about 12,300 acres harvested annually |
| Largest U.S. pumpkin on record | 2,517.5 pounds, grown in 2019 by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York |
| Botanical family | Curcurbita, the squash family; a pumpkin is a fruit |
| Origin | Central America |
The Record Books and the Medicine Cabinet
Pumpkins can grow to a size that strains belief. The latest U.S. record, set in 2019, belongs to a pumpkin that weighed in at 2,517.5 pounds, grown by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York. Getting one that big takes a long season, deep soil, and a gardener willing to baby a single vine all summer. If you want to try for a giant of your own, our guide on how to grow pumpkins walks through the patch from seed to harvest.
The pumpkin has a place in the old home remedies too. It was once considered a cure for freckles and for snakebites, the kind of folk wisdom that traveled by word of mouth on the farm. The seeds carry more than flavor. Pumpkin seeds taste great roasted and contain medicinal properties, and natural medicine practitioners have held that consuming pumpkin seeds reduces the risk of prostate disorders in men. The seeds are not the only edible part, either. The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on the pumpkin vine are edible, fried or stuffed in the late-summer kitchen. Once the carving is done, the leftover pumpkin can even turn into one of our traditional Halloween crafts.
Pumpkin Facts: Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?
A pumpkin is botanically a fruit, since it grows from the flower of the plant and holds the seeds inside. It is also a squash, a member of the Curcurbita family. Cooks treat it like a vegetable, but the gardener and the botanist call it a fruit, and many people think it should be our national fruit.
Where did pumpkins come from?
Pumpkins originated in Central America. Native Americans grew and ate pumpkins and their seeds long before the Pilgrims reached this continent, and the Pilgrims learned how to grow and prepare them from the Native Americans. Pumpkin was most likely served at the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621.
What is the largest pumpkin ever grown?
The latest U.S. record, set in 2019, was a pumpkin that weighed 2,517.5 pounds, grown by Karl Haist of Clarence Center, New York. Growing one that size takes a long season, rich soil, and steady care of a single vine all summer.
Which state grows the most pumpkins?
Illinois grows the most pumpkins in the country, harvesting about 12,300 acres annually. Morton, Illinois, is known as the “Pumpkin Capital of the World” and is home to the Libby’s pumpkin industry, where much of the nation’s canned pumpkin is processed.
Where does the word “pumpkin” come from?
The word “pumpkin” comes from the Greek word pepon, which means a “large melon.” The name traveled and shifted through other languages before it settled into the English word we use today.
Are pumpkin seeds and flowers good for you?
Yes. Pumpkin seeds taste great roasted and contain medicinal properties, and natural medicine practitioners have held that eating pumpkin seeds reduces the risk of prostate disorders in men. The yellow-orange flowers that bloom on the vine are edible too. Pumpkins were even once considered a remedy for freckles and snakebites.
Deborah Tukua
Deborah Tukua is a natural living, healthy lifestyle writer and author of 7 non-fiction books, including Pearls of Garden Wisdom: Time-Saving Tips and Techniques from a Country Home, Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping Garden and Home, and Naturally Sweet Blender Treats. Tukua has been a writer for the Farmers' Almanac since 2004.
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
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