Ponderous pumpkins         

Pumpkin history and production

[NOV. 25, 2005]  URBANA -- Pumpkins go with fall like cooler temperatures, colorful mums, frosty nights and changing foliage, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.

"Pumpkins are economically important in Illinois and also have health benefits," said Ron Wolford. "Illinois grows more pumpkins than any other state, with over 12,000 acres of land in production. Eighty percent of all pumpkins produced commercially are grown within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, and 95 percent of the pumpkins processed in the United States are grown in Illinois.

"The bright orange color of a pumpkin is a dead giveaway that it is loaded with an important antioxidant, beta carotene. Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offer protection against heart disease. Beta carotene offers protection against other diseases as well as some degenerative aspects of aging."

Wolford noted that pumpkins have been around for centuries. First grown in Central America, pumpkins were brought to Europe in the form of seeds by returning Spanish explorers in the 14th century.

"When the early settlers arrived in North America, they discovered that Native Americans were growing and using pumpkins," said Wolford. "Native Americans roasted strips of pumpkin over an open fire for food and also dried long strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats."

Early colonists cut off the top of the pumpkin, scraped out the seeds and filled the pumpkins inside with milk, honey and spices, cooking it for hours into sort of an early version of a pumpkin pie.

"Illinois claims the 'Pumpkin Capital of the World,' which is Morton, just 10 miles southeast of Peoria," Wolford noted. "Over 100,000 tons of pumpkins are processed and canned in the local Libby's plant there each year. That is enough pumpkin to bake more than 50 million pies."

University of Illinois Extension maintains a website with information about pumpkins, including pumpkin farms. It is located at: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins.

Source: Ron Wolford, unit educator, urban horticulture and environment

[University of Illinois news release]

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