Pumpkin Trivia

Last year I made Sierra a cookbook for Christmas, and I did a section about Pumpkins. I thought you might enjoy some of the trivia I found.

Pumpkin flowers are edible
496 pounds of pumpkins were produced in Illinois in 2005.
Top pumpkin producers are the states of Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California.
Pumpkins are fed to animals.

The largest pumpkin pie ever was over 5 feet in diameter
weighed over 350 pounds
it used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin
36 pounds of sugar
12 dozen eggs
it took 6 hours to bake.

Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
Largest pumpkin grown 1,140 lbs.
Pumpkins are 90% water.
Pumpkins are fruit.

In colonial times, colonists sliced off pumpkin tops, removed seeds and filled the insides
with milk, spices and honey. Then baked in hot ashes this is the origin of the pumpkin pie.

Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkin, dried them, and made mats.
They used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

It was Americans that changed the word pumpion into pumpkin.

Interesting huh?