There are more than 800 different varieties of a pumpkin plant, but by no means all of them are known in our latitudes and are processed into delicious dishes. They are divided into various groups and subgroups by name and are roughly referred to as ornamental squash, edible squash, and vegetable squash. The latter is best known as zucchini. The botanical name for the pumpkin is Cucurbita, but it has many other popular names, some of which are funny. Find out here which pumpkin you can use for pumpkin soup.
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Pumpkin plants and their homeland
The pumpkin also has something to do with the discovery of America. The Indians cultivated it in different ways, it was known as far away as Canada. It originally comes from Central America and was brought to Europe via Eurasia. Presumably, at that time people did not know such nice uses for it as they do today. Since the focus has shifted back to one’s own garden and self-sufficiency has become a major topic, interest in pumpkins and their possible uses has also been in the foreground.
Special features of pumpkins
Pumpkin plants are such a small sensation in the garden. They can form runners around 10 meters long, and the large leaves form on the thick stems. The stems are covered with bristly hairs that prick when touched, so wear gardening gloves. With these foothills, the pumpkin plant could also climb up a strong trellis, grow over a garden fence or simply “grow” around in a circle. Many a garden lover planted the pumpkin without realizing it and then wondered about meter-long shoots that they no longer knew where to put. With a bit of luck, the beautiful, bright yellow flowers will turn into a budding pumpkin.
Pumpkin plants can also be differentiated into summer squash and winter squash. These two species can be distinguished by their appearance alone. While the summer squash has a square stem, the winter squash has a round stem. The fruit of the summer squash family can be eaten with the skin on, the best example being a courgette, which also belongs to this family. Winter squash, on the other hand, are really stubborn, they have a hard skin and are a bit reluctant to be conquered by the chef. If you don’t want to get involved in resistance, simply choose the Hokkaido pumpkin. Although it is also a winter squash, its skin is hard, even though it is edible.
In the meantime, many pumpkin varieties are known and available here, which are used for a wide variety of purposes. Some may wrinkle their noses at the thought of pumpkin, but that’s unfounded. Not the medicine ball-sized pumpkins, but rather the small and aromatic ones are prepared into tasty chutneys, compotes, schnitzels and much more. For example, these taste very good:
- Hokkaido
- Butternut or squash
- Yellow hundredweight
- patisson
- Mini garden pumpkin
- Spaghettikürbis
- Rondini
The pumpkin feels at home here
A pumpkin plant is best grown on the windowsill. As a true American, he loves sunny and mild weather, a sheltered location and good soil. This should be particularly nutritious, because all the pumpkin heads on a plant are very hungry and want to grow very large. So put plenty of compost in the soil, fertilize with nitrogen fertilizer to help you get started and, above all, provide it with plenty of water. However, waterlogging should be avoided at all costs. The pumpkin rots very quickly on the bush if the fruits are lying on the moist soil. A tuft of straw underneath or a piece of wooden board can prevent this.
He’s also picky about his neighbors. He doesn’t like tomatoes and cucumbers because they are also heavy feeders and would compete with him for food. However, it can be planted in the immediate vicinity of beans without hesitation, because these also give it the desired shady place.
pests on the plant
Snails also love pumpkins, which is why they are the worst enemy of young plants. Snail defense is a well-known problem, but it is possible to keep the animals away from the pumpkins with snail fences or beer traps. If the weather is dry, the plants are more likely to be spared than in rain and humid weather.
Another plague can be powdery mildew, which is a popular sight on pumpkin plants. Again, this is a problem that is very common in dry weather and when it is hot. If the pumpkin heads are already well developed, the powdery mildew can no longer cause as much damage as with young plants.
Downy mildew shows up as yellow-white spots on the leaves and white coating under the leaves of the squash plant. Downy mildew reappears in damp weather and causes the plant to die. A fundamental renunciation of nitrogen fertilizers can help to prevent such diseases from occurring in the first place.
The pumpkin in the kitchen
The Hokkaido is available in supermarkets practically all year round. In your own garden, if you take good care of it, it will provide for one or the other pumpkin head, which is why recipes are very popular. Whatever time of year you want to make a pumpkin soup or another delicious meal from the Hokkaido, it is very versatile and, above all, easy to prepare.
Of course, it can still be prepared as pumpkin soup, and the recipes have been refined over and over again. But the popular chutneys, which are particularly popular during the barbecue season, can also be prepared from pumpkin. Then, however, enough glasses should be filled, because the Hokkaido is not quite ripe in the barbecue season, it is probably still growing unsuspectingly near the barbecue. Of course, pickled pumpkin or canned chutneys keep very well throughout the year, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
Irrespective of this, you should also try the other varieties, such as this one here:
- nutmeg squash
- Fig Leaf Squash
- bottle gourd
- Turkish turban
- Musk Squash
It smells a little bit like musk when it is fully ripe and the other two have a creamy pulp that tastes very aromatic.
Tasty and nutritious
Pumpkins are very healthy, how could it be otherwise with vegetables. But the high amount of beta-carotene and vitamin A, magnesium, potassium and calcium are remarkable. We all know that beta-carotene is very important for protecting body cells. It is one of the radical scavengers that are so important today.
Recipe for a pumpkin soup
A very delicious pumpkin soup can be prepared from a Hokkaido pumpkin with a gross weight of around 600g and the following ingredients:
- 1 finely diced onion
- Salt pepper
- Some butter for sautéing
- Spice Delikat (health food store)
- 300ml of water
- 200ml milk
- Some cream
- Some pumpkin seed oil
- flavor with orange juice
Wash the Hokkaido pumpkin and then cut in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon (save for one seed). Then roughly dice the pumpkin with the skin and sauté with the onions in the butter. Season with salt and pepper and Delikata (organic herbal spice mix).
Pour in the milk and water and briefly bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently over a low heat for approx. 20 minutes. When the pumpkin cubes are done, they are pureed with the blender and possibly boiled with a little water/milk to create a creamy pumpkin soup. A dash of orange juice gives the pumpkin soup an additional fine touch. Draw a pattern in the soup bowl with a teaspoon of liquid cream and decorate with a few drops of pumpkin seed oil.
Pleasing: few calories in the pumpkin
You need a good half hour for this delicious meal and it tastes good not only in autumn, when it is generally the season for pumpkins. If you don’t have your own garden or your own Hokkaido pumpkin, you can find it in the supermarket almost all year round.
If the harvest is very plentiful and you don’t know what to do with the pumpkin heads, you can also cut them into pieces and freeze them. Alternatively, they can be pickled like pickles and are a delicious side dish for dinner. To store the pumpkin yield, the fruits should be placed on a shelf in a dry and not too cool room. If they are harvested when ripe, they should be left in the sun for a while before being cellared.
Conclusion
The pumpkin is not only a very interesting vegetable plant as long as it is still in the garden bed. Although it would cause a stir here with its imposing length and possibly many fruits, you should do without some of the fruits and stop growth at around 5 to 8 flowers. Simply snap off the end of the shoot and pamper and pamper the existing flowers. It quickly happens that the pumpkin blossoms rot at the base and do not form any fruit. It is better to put some straw under the flower so that it lies soft and dry. The soil should definitely be kept moist so that the pumpkin heads develop well. Then you can soon make a delicious pumpkin soup with the finished pumpkins.