Did you know that eighty percent of all the pumpkins sold in the United States are bought in October? Pumpkins are synonymous with the fall harvest, the month of October, and, of course, with Halloween!
You may already know one version or another of the story of devious Jack and his carved jack o’ lantern, but here are some things you may not know about the giant orange fruit (pumpkins are fruit, I checked), the Native Americans called isquotersquash….
Pumpkins are part of the squash family, along with zucchini and cucumbers! I don’t recommend trying to make a jack o’ lantern out of a cucumber, though.
The first jack o’ lanterns came from Ireland, and were made from turnips. When the Irish came to America, they figured out that pumpkins were way easier to carve…and after Halloween could be made into tasty pumpkin dishes!
The pumpkin capital of the world is Morton, Illinois. They have an annual Pumpkin Festival that includes a parade, a cooking competition, and a Pumpkin Princess pageant!
The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed 350 pounds. Hope someone remembered the Cool Whip!
Breaking the world record for largest pumpkin has become an annual goal among pumpkin fans. The largest official pumpkin ever grown weighed 1810.5 pounds!
Who wants to help me scoop out the innards and make the world's largest jack o' lantern?!
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