October is harvesting time for pumpkins, which decorate the landscape and accent the holiday festivities that take place across the United States.
The classic harvest displays bring about an air of positivity and thanksgiving across the country.
According to internet research, pumpkins are grown in all 50 states, with Illinois being the largest producer by far, accounting for 40% of U.S. production. And while you’ll see pumpkins wherever you go in our state, Georgia does not rank among the top pumpkin producers nationwide.
While Central America originated pumpkins, China, India, and Russia are the top three producers worldwide, with the United States ranking fifth.
Pumpkins are very healthy and low in calories, too. The seeds are highly nutritious. Rich in vitamins A and C, pumpkins are also high in fiber and protein.
Fall has never been a month for international travel for this aficionado of pumpkin soup, so I don’t know anything about pumpkins and the bountiful scenes they may create in Great Britain and France. But since farming is very important to those nations, I am sure that there are some interesting pumpkin facts to enjoy while sipping on a glass of Bordeaux. Maybe even pumpkin pie for dessert. You would expect French chefs to create something unique and special with pumpkins, as they seem to do with everything else.
I am sure there are pumpkin patches where other cultures do as we do. Find a pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkin to decorate and enjoy cooking. I remember having lunch with a farmer in Southern France one summer, and the hostess served pumpkin pie. It made me feel at home.
In addition to pumpkin pie, there are several dishes made from this delightful fruit. And yes, pumpkins are a fruit. Any plant that has its beginning as a flower is designated as a fruit, according to cursory research.
There is pumpkin bread, made from pumpkin puree and other ingredients; pumpkin lasagna, which involves the use of pumpkin puree, noodles, and cheese; pumpkin chili, with main ingredients pumpkin puree with spices and meat; roasted pumpkin seeds; and don’t forget, pumpkin soup.
I discovered pumpkin soup in the ‘70s while on a trip to Jamaica and could not get enough. I ordered it at lunch each day of the trip. I even asked for it at breakfast one morning, but the waiter who had become a friend, smiled and said, “Oh no, mon — you only get it at lunch and dinner.”
I had never seen pumpkin soup on a menu anywhere but in the Caribbean. I think I will ask my local catering friend, Lee Epting, to make a pot of pumpkin soup for me. I bet he could make it just like they do “down the way where the nights are gay, and the sun shines daily on the mountain top.”
It likely was made many years before Europeans arrived in the Americas. When pumpkins were taken home to Europe in the 17th Century, European chefs were excited to make pumpkin soup a staple of their menus.
However, in all my years traveling in France, I never had to order pumpkin soup anywhere. I can only imagine what it would be like to order a bowl of pumpkin soup in some village with a dash of cognac, surely making it an even more memorable occasion.
Now, to segue into a favorite story about a well-known football coach. One of the most colorful characters in college football for years was the late Dee Andros. He was the head coach of the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis.
Oregon State’s colors are orange and black. Andros was 5-foot-10 and weighed almost 300 pounds, and when he dressed in all orange, he earned the nickname, “The Great Pumpkin.”
Andros truly was colorful and a delightful raconteur. When I asked him about his nickname, he answered, “Well, them Oregon people call me ‘The Great Squash,’ but I don’t care what you call me — as long as you call me to eat!”