It's Halloween Season and we are all thinking of how best to perfect our pumpkin carving for an Oíche Shamhna to make it as spooky as possible. With Halloween night now only days away we looked at 5 surprising facts about pumpkins and we have to admit we didn't know all of them.
1. A Pumpkin is a Fruit Not a Vegetable
In fact, it's a berry. Pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds.
2. Morton, Illinois, USA is the Pumpkin Capital Of The World
Morton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed pumpkin capital of the world. Illinois is one of the largest producers of pumpkin in the United States with 90 to 95 percent of its crop being used for processed pumpkin foods.
3. Pumpkin Seeds Contain More Protein Than Peanuts
4. Pumpkins are made up of 90% Water
This is less of a surprising fact when you consider that pumpkins come from the same family as the cucumber and watermelon.
5. The Carving Pumpkin tradition originated here in Ireland
The Celtic Irish would carve jack-o-lanterns out of turnips to scare away evil spirits during the Celtic holiday Samhain, the night when spirits of the dead would walk the earth.
