another pumpkin question

[Holley]

There are jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins. What is the difference botanically?

TIA Holley

[Phisherman]

There are varieties of pumpkins that are better for jack-o-lanterns. Generally, the larger ones are best. The "original" jack-o-lantern was actually a turnip and there's an interesting story about it (Google to find it!). I make jack-o-lanterns every year, set them on the front porch, and cook the pumpkin the next day. It takes a few hours to cook out most of the liquid. After cooling, I store the pulp in Ziploc bags and freeze them. Near Thanksgiving I make several pies for my neighbors. They have a much better taste than the canned pumpkin but not quite as orange in color. My favorite is roasted pumpkin seeds and these are usually gone at the end of day that pumpkins are carved.

[Pat Kiewicz]

Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are almost always a large orange squash from the species Cucurbita pepo. These are cultivars selected for thinner walls and long, strong stems (sometimes referred to as handles in seed-catalog speak). Pie pumpkins can refer to other C. pepo squashes that have more substantial or less stringy flesh and more flavor and sweetness. But 'pumpkin' for pies and other delicious dishes could well be squash from other species, C. moschata (butternut and cheese* squash), C. maxima (Hubbard, buttercup, banana and kabocha squashes) or C. mixta (cushaws). C. pepo squashes include (in addition to pumpkins) delicata, acorn, spaghetti and summer sqashes. [NOTE: this is not an exhaustive list, just some of the better-known types.]

*Called that because they resemble wheels of cheese. (I've grown them myself.)