How to tell an eating pumpkin from a non eating pumpkin?

[Pulsegleaner]

Hi all

Does anyone know how to easily tell a pumpkin that can be eaten from one that cannot (assuming you don't know the variety of the pumpkin you are looking at, and can't simply look it up)?

I opened our fall pumpkin on Sunday (it had a hole in it, and I assumed it would mold otherwise) for it's seeds, as I normally do with our fall pumpkins. THAT pumpkin went out to the squirrels, but I could have sworn it was an eating one. It smelled sort of melon-y (as opposed to the harsher smell of a normal Jack o lantern pumpkin and I didn't taste anything soapy in the tiny fragment of flesh I tasted (and then spit out). But are these how one tells? It would be helpful to know for future years how to tell a fall pumpkin I toss to the animals from one I can cook (as well as knowing whether I can cook decedents of the seeds.)

 

[flowerbug]

Hi all

Does anyone know how to easily tell a pumpkin that can be eaten from one that cannot (assuming you don't know the variety of the pumpkin you are looking at, and can't simply look it up)?

I opened our fall pumpkin on Sunday (it had a hole in it, and I assumed it would mold otherwise) for it's seeds, as I normally do with our fall pumpkins. THAT pumpkin went out to the squirrels, but I could have sworn it was an eating one. It smelled sort of melon-y (as opposed to the harsher smell of a normal Jack o lantern pumpkin and I didn't taste anything soapy in the tiny fragment of flesh I tasted (and then spit out). But are these how one tells? It would be helpful to know for future years how to tell a fall pumpkin I toss to the animals from one I can cook (as well as knowing whether I can cook decedents of the seeds.)

because of the promiscuity of squash/pumpkins and how the various seed companies function (or don't) when it comes down to isolation distances and such, well i can't think anyone would bet 100% on any single plant. and so given that... perhaps you had a good one there?

i've not personally done much with what are called pumpkins, but i'm pretty sure some of the squash i grow now came from a cross with a pumpkin. the flesh is different and sweeter than the originals, Mom likes them more so i'll keep on growing them as long as i can get the seeds to come back. so far, so good...

since it is fairly easy to just take a bit and microwave it to see how it tastes cooked i think that is the real test of any of them beyond if you can cut it open easily enough and if there is any flesh or seeds in there to try out.

it was several years ago when i was reading something and they mentioned that some people grow pumpkins just for the seeds. well, sure the seeds are edible and good when they're available, but i never thought of them as a separate crop from the flesh of the pumpkin since i do like roasted squash too... to me having both be edible (even along with the skin which happens with some of them too) is great (like getting beans that work both as fresh and as dry beans, but then you find out they work as shellies and you're all hyped another time from it ).

 

[Zeedman]

Pumpkins can be harsh. Too many varieties - especially those in markets today - have been bred for appearance, not edibility. Those that I have tried were watery, stringy, and bland. It's true that taste varies between individuals, one man's pumpkin may be another man's squash... but as a class, "pumpkins" are generally substandard in their culinary qualities. All pumpkins are edible; but there is a difference between being edible, and being enjoyable.

When my grandchildren were young, I was given a couple Jack-o-lantern pumpkins for carving. After Halloween, I threw the pumpkins into my tree line. Mice & squirrels chewed a hole to eat the seeds, but didn't eat the flesh. Even the deer didn't touch them until much later, when snow had covered the ground. In comparison, when I threw a couple half-spoiled buttercups there, they were eaten within days. When even animals turn up their nose at something, it speaks volumes.

My suggestion would be similar to that suggested by @flowerbug . Cut off a slice, microwave it, and taste it... then keep or discard as applicable. It never hurts to try something before throwing it away. I just went through that process for my mature Tromboncino, which was probably as unpleasant as some pumpkins.

it was several years ago when i was reading something and they mentioned that some people grow pumpkins just for the seeds. well, sure the seeds are edible and good when they're available, but i never thought of them as a separate crop from the flesh of the pumpkin since i do like roasted squash too... to me having both be edible (even along with the skin which happens with some of them too) is great (like getting beans that work both as fresh and as dry beans, but then you find out they work as shellies and you're all hyped another time from it ).

I grow have grown naked-seeded pumpkins specifically for their high-quality seeds. Just as I test all beans for use as both snap and shelly, I test all squashes. The flesh of those pumpkins was uniformly sub-par. "Triple Treat" (OP) and "Naked Bear" (hybrid) are supposedly pumpkins which have both good flesh & hull-less seeds, but I have not yet tried either of them.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Pumpkins can be harsh. Too many varieties - especially those in markets today - have been bred for appearance, not edibility. Those that I have tried were watery, stringy, and bland. It's true that taste varies between individuals, one man's pumpkin may be another man's squash... but as a class, "pumpkins" are generally substandard in their culinary qualities. All pumpkins are edible; but there is a difference between being edible, and being enjoyable.

That's actually what I was concerned about. Given the sheer diversity of different "pumpkins" available at the Farmer's Market where I usually get mine (and my tendency to go for the most unusual looking one I can to buy) what I get can have genetics from ANY conceivable cucurbit that can cross, edible or inedible. I have at least one that had so much gourd DNA it actually developed a wooden shell (though it had thick flesh inside the shell unlike a full gourd). Some of last years were nearly all Japanese silver squash DNA (differing only in being round, rather than necked.)

I'm just trying to figure out if, if I make a mistake, I won't poison myself with saponins.

 

[thejenx]

If it's about finding out if it's edible , just cut off a small piece and chew on it. If it's bitter it's going to make you sick. If its slightly sweet or blend it's edible and you can cook it safely.

 

[ducks4you]

ALL pumpkins are edible. As above, the huge ones are full of water.

Pie Pumpkins or Sugar Pumpkins

pumpkins, organic gardening pie pumpkins

gardentalkandtips.blogspot.com

Pie pumpkins are preFERRED for pies bc they are less fibrous, but you can make a pie with any ole pumpkin, and I have done this many times.
If you are interested in ONLY pumpkin pie or cakes, here is an interesting article:

Pie Pumpkins: 11 of the Best Varieties to Grow for Puree | Gardener’s Path

If you want to grow sweet, delicious pumpkins to make purees and pie this fall, learn about 11 of the best pumpkin varieties for pie on Gardener's Path.

gardenerspath.com

Some are hybrid.
ALL heirloom pumpkins are edible.
All heirloom pumpkins originated in north or south america.
Some heirlooms were bred abroad.
All heirloom goards, with a few exceptions, come from central america.
Here, in the US, you will be growing native.