Do you have a passion for pumpkins?
The name pumpkin first appeared in the 17th century, not long before Perrault wrote Cinderella. ‘Pumpkin’ comes from the greek word pepon meaning ‘cooked by the sun’. Over time this became varieties in many sizes and different colours.
Amazingly it is possible to grow them on every continent apart from Antarctica. Pumpkins are a good source of vitamin A and potassium: apart from the flesh you can also eat the flowers. Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkin, dried them and wove them into mats – this is something we have not yet tried.