Can pumpkin be eaten raw? Eat 19 types of pumpkin raw

Edible pumpkins can be eaten raw

Pumpkins contain the bitter substance cucurbitacin. This can be toxic even in small amounts. However, this toxin has been bred out of squash. With a pumpkin from the supermarket, there is no qualms about eating it raw. In addition to the pumpkin varieties that are intended for consumption, there are also ornamental pumpkins. As the name suggests, these are for decorative purposes only and are not edible. Consuming these can quickly lead to food poisoning, which can be fatal. In comparison to edible pumpkins, ornamental pumpkins are usually smaller and also stand out due to their unusual shapes and colours.

Be careful with garden pumpkins

Pumpkins that are harvested in your own garden should not be eaten raw. Here it can happen that more toxins in the form of cucurbitacin have formed through reverse mutations. This can easily be done with pollination by bees, especially if ornamental squashes or courgettes are growing near the squash plants. This can lead to crossbreeding and the squash is poisonous. However, such reverse mutations can also occur when using old seeds from the previous year or seeds that you have harvested yourself. However, there is no risk that seeds from the specialist trade will contain cucurbitacin. It is always important that the origin is known.

do a taste test

Since a reverse mutation is not so easily recognizable with the naked eye, a taste test should be carried out before the pumpkin from the garden is eaten, especially when it is raw. The procedure is as follows

• Put a piece of raw pumpkin in your mouth
• Check taste
• Don’t swallow a piece
• spit out after rehearsal

If there is a bitter taste, the pumpkin usually contains the harmful bitter substances cucurbitacin. It is then no longer edible raw, but it should also no longer be cooked. The bitter taste would subside, but the toxins remain. There is nothing else to do, the pumpkin must be disposed of on the compost heap.

symptoms of poisoning

However, should poisoning by the bitter substances cucurbitacin occur, the following symptoms must be observed and a doctor must be consulted immediately:

• nausea and vomiting
• colic
• diarrhea
• tachycardia
• a headache
• heavy salivation
• mucosal irritations

In sensitive people, it can sometimes lead to death.

Raw edible pumpkin varieties

Below is a short list of pumpkin varieties that also taste delicious raw.

B to E

White of Egypt

• hard thin shell
• colored almost white
• yellow, firm flesh
• up to 6 months shelf life
• good in salads

Buttercup

• green, hard shell
• orange flesh
• creamy and tender like butter
• sweet taste of chestnuts

Butternut, „Butternuss“

• pear shape
• thin, beige shell
• a lot of meat, few seeds
• pips in the bulbous end
• soft, orange flesh
• sweetish-creamy taste with a light note of butter
• up to 6 months shelf life

Chestnut

• alt Kind
• Weight 800 to 1000g
• grey-green, thin, dense skin
• yellow to orange, fine-grained, thick flesh
• slightly sweet taste of chestnuts

Delicate

• Subform of spaghetti squash
• elongated shape
• yellow skin with broad green stripes
• yellow to orange flesh
• slightly sweet taste
• also nutty aromas similar to sweet chestnuts
• Storage up to 3 months

Eightball

• spherical shape
• size of a billiard ball
• Maximum weight 1 kg
• dark green, thin skin with orange spots
• light, tender meat
• Storage 2 to 3 months

F bus L

Fairy

• Musk Squash
• soft, dark green skin with light stripes or dots
• round shape
• easy to peel
• up to 1.5 kg heavy
• thick, firm, bright orange flesh
• sweet and fruity taste
• Storage 5 to 8 months

Festival

• thin, hard shell
• orange with green stripes
• slightly orange to bright yellow flesh
• crisp
• up to 1 kg heavy
• nutty-sweet aroma of chestnuts
• Storage up to 6 months

Heart of Gold

• hard, green and white striped shell
• cream to yellow, dense, slightly fibrous flesh
• sweet taste of hazelnut
• Storage up to 3 months

Hokkaido

• breitrundliche Form
• 1 to 3 kg heavy
• bright orange skin
• shell edible
• orange-yellow flesh
• firm and low-fiber
• nutty taste
• Storage up to 6 months

Local Indian Pumpkin

• breitrunde Form
• orange-red, thick, hard shell
• Shell riddled with transverse folds
• yellow-orange flesh
• thick, fine-grained, crisp
• nutty taste, also fruity after melon

M to R

Mandarin

• mini pumpkin
• Diameter 10 to 12 cm
• weight a few hundred grams
• orange colored shell with ribbed structure
• shell edible
• light yellow to orange flesh
• fruity-sweet, slightly nutty taste

Muskatkürbis, „Nutmeg of Provence“

• flachrunde Form
• dark green to light brown, ribbed skin
• up to 30 kg heavy
• firm, orange-red flesh
• few cores
• slightly sour taste with chestnut and hazelnut aroma

Papaw

• alt Kind
• conical shape, similar to papaya
• Diameter 13 to 15 cm, length 20 to 23 cm
• Weight up to 2.5 kg
• very thin, yellow skin with cream spots
• firm, bright orange flesh
• slightly sweet taste

Patisson, Kaisermütze, Bischofsmütze

• alt Kind
• Diameter 10 to 25 cm
• white, green, yellow or bicolored fruits
• Taste of zucchini and artichoke
• young fruits edible with skin
• the smaller the fruit, the sweeter

Roter Zentner, Rouge vif d’Etampes

• 5 to 10 kg heavy
• Diameter 20 to 30 cm
• flachrunde Form
• bright red shell
• fibrous, orange flesh
• slightly sweet to nutty taste
• good carving pumpkin

S to T

Spaghettikürbis

• look similar to a pale honeydew melon
• up to 2 kg heavy
• light yellow flesh with long fibers
• very mild nutty taste

Sweet Dumpling

• Weight 300 to 600 g
• white to orange skin with variegated stripes
• Stripes usually green, orange or yellow
• firm, tender, light flesh
• slightly sweet, chestnut-like taste

Nice Light Round

• Italian variety
• light green shell
• tender white meat
• Harvest the size of an apple
• zucchini taste
• young specimens raw in salads

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