Pumpkin: varieties and properties

Pumpkin: the good and healthy seasonal vegetable

It’s fall, in our closet there are jumper and coats, the leaves are becoming yellow and in the market we can find fruit and vegetables typical of this season like porcini (amazing Italian mushrooms) and pumpkins. Therefore, it is the moment to take advantage of the fruits that the nature give is, one in particular: the pumpkin.

Properties of pumpkin

Exquisitely sweet and with a full taste, the pumpkin is vegetable of this season, it is extremely versatile and it is perfect to prepare thousand of dishes, both first and second courses, but also desserts for a pleasant end of the meal.
On the contrary of what you think, pumpkin is the perfect food for who suffers of diabetes. This vegetable that belongs to the family of cucurbitaceous, in fact, has a low contents of carbohydrate and lipids together with fibers, vitamins and mineral salts. 100 gr has around 20 kcal, thanks to the high contents of water, around the 90%.

The use of the sugar: both sweet and savory

Pumpkin is a vegetable where we can say that, peel apart, you don’t throw anything: pumpkin flowers are really tasty if battered and then fried. Inside the pumpkin, then, there are precious seeds that are perfect paired for an aperitif. But the pulp is the main part of this vegetable that can be reinvented in thousand of ways, creating to great dishes. From first courses like pureed soup, risotto and side dish for second courses, or single dishes as savory cakes or exquisite desserts, there’s nothing more versatile than pumpkin!

Variety of pumpkin

There is such a wide variety of pumpkins that sometimes it is difficult to choose which one it is the best to prepare our dishes. Thus, before discovering some interesting recipes with pumpkin, let’s discover which pumpkin it is better to buy.

Decorative pumpkins

These pumpkins are really small and they are used mainly as decoration. They grow on climbing plants and it is fundamental to pick the fruits when they are perfectly ripened otherwise they can go rotten shortly in your creations. They are ideal to build nice centerpieces, small ornaments or external decorations.

Violina or ferrarese or butternut pumpkin

This is a variety of pumpkin is a late variety that comes from america (it is said it comes from Massachusetts) and it belongs to the family of Cucurbita moscata. It has the shape of a bell/violin, the peel is smooth with a green-yellow colour that becomes almost ochre with as the time pass. The pulp has a yellow-orange colour with a sweet taste, like almond. It is perfect for a risotto.

Delica pumpkin

This type of sugar, the most common in Italy, has a small and flat shape, the peel is green and the pulp is yellow. It is cultivated mainly in Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, and pretty used as stuffing of “tortelli mantovani” and “cappellacci ferraresi”.

Mantova pumpkin

Another common variety of pumpkin that is characterized by a thick and rough peel with brown wrinkles. The pulp has a strong yellow colour and it is really compact with a sweet taste. It is perfect for gnocchi with pumpkin.

Neapolitan pumpkin

It is also called “cucozza zuccarina” this pumpkin arrives from Latin America and it is characterized by a thick red-orange colour, with a thick and sweet pulp. It is rich in pulp for all its length, seeds are located in the end that is the most filamentary part. Unfortunately, Long neapolitan pumpkin is cultivated only in a few areas thus it is in danger to disappear. It can be used to prepare soups and pureed soups.

Chioggia pumpkin

This pumpkin is particular and easy to recognize, it is gnarled and wrinkly with a long peduncle. The slices are well recognizable and the peel has a dark green – grey colour. Inside it, the pulp is yellow – orange colour, it is sugary and tasty and it can be used to prepare lots of dishes, but its peculiarity is that it is possible to use it raw in starters or mixed salads.

Albenga trumpet pumpkin

This variety of pumpkin is typical of Liguria, in particular from Albenga, and it is eaten mainly in this region, in Piedmont or French Riviera, thus it is pretty difficult to find it in the rest of Italy. It is easily recognizable in the supermarket because its name reflect exactly its shape, like a trumpet. The pulp is thick and the fruit is practically without seeds, for all its length, It is perfect as seasoning for pasta.

Muscat pumpkin

This is one of the most common pumpkin in Italy, with its bronze-ochre colour and evident slices. The pulp is precious and high quality, with an intense orange and it is suggested for pureed soups and risotto.