On the Unofficial Mascot of Autumn….the pumpkin

I knew since my first Ginger Pumpkin Soup experience at Jungle Bay Resort and Spa that I would eventually write a blog about the “pumpkin,” but decided to wait until it got closer to Halloween when the pumpkin was on everyone else’s mind as well.

The more the pumpkin was on my mind as I prepared to write this blog, the more I realized that the pumpkin is sort of like the unofficial mascot of autumn. Take a moment to mentally make a list of all the things that remind you of Autumn? Can you honestly deny that the pumpkin didn’t make the list with at least one reference to; Pumpkin Pie, Jack-O-Lanterns, Pumpkin etched garbage bags filled with leaves sitting on your front lawn, Pumpkins greeting you on your doorstep, at the office, or on the table, and of course the tragic but occasional pumpkin smashed into the road by some hooligans having fun.

I’m completely aware of my tardiness on the Halloween blog, but you have to understand that had it not been for my friend sending some photos of himself in his costume (very mature) I wouldn’t have had any idea it was Halloween (or even November). And even if Halloween were celebrated in the Caribbean (it’s not) I doubt it would be celebrated in Dominica as Dominicans are too busy hosting (partying at) the World Creole Music Festival and preparing for their Independence Holiday. Independence Day is a relatively new holiday here as Dominica gained its independence from England November 3, 1978, but yet for unknown reasons (to me) kept the driving on the left side of the road.
So as I was beginning to say, none of the indications that Fall/Halloween are arriving exist in Dominica, and your subconscious knows what indicators I am referring to; gluttonous amount of sugar floating around the office, ginormous candy displays greeting you at the supermarket, beautiful fall foliage, ornate Halloween lawn decorations (that are now on par with Christmas displays) the inevitable Halloween Party you need to figure out a costume for, excessive ghost decorations, and last but not least the bountiful appearance of today’s blog topic, the Pumpkin.

For lunch in high school my friend (ironically the same one mentioned earlier) and I frequented a local Bagel Store for lunch with a poster of a woman eating a Gyro that claimed ‘Gyros’ were “Delicious and Fun to eat.” Although, we never really figured out what that meant, it’s in that same spirit I say that in Dominica I have learned the “Pumpkin” is not only fun to say but delicious to eat.

[Say Pumpkin 3x in a row…Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin…. quite a fun, isn’t it?]

In Dominica, instead of finding the pumpkin decoratively on people’s doorstep (or smashed in the road ☹), you’ll deliciously find it on the table, but note that the pumpkin consumed in Dominica has a green exterior.

Name that tropical fruit!
Originally uploaded by Pirate 605.

You can find the pumpkin in many of the yummy dishes at the Pavilion Restaurant at Jungle Bay and in two of my personal favorites, Ginger Pumpkin Soup and the Rasta Man’s Ital . Botanically the pumpkin is a fruit, referring to a plant part that grows on a flower, but in culinary terms is widely regarded as a vegetable and tastes very much like a squash...It is, after all, related to the zucchini. If your pumpkin wasn’t destroyed by a hooligan, be sure to try it in a recipe and the recipe for Jungle Bay's Ginger Pumpkin soup can be found in our Fall Newsletter

Thanks for reading and take care until the next adventure. To check out some fun facts about the Pumpkin, thanks to the wondeful folks of Wikipeida, read below or check it out on Wikipedia.
- The pumpkin is the state fruit of New Hampshire.
- Pumpkins are orange because they contain massive amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta-carotene. These nutrients turn to vitamin A in the body.
- "Pumpkin" is sometimes used as an affectionate term for a loved one
- Pumpkin growers compete at festivals dedicated to the pumpkin to see whose pumpkins are the most massive
- The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,469 lb (666 kg) and was raised by Larry Checkon from Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania in 2005
- However, this record is being challenged by Ron Wallace of Rhode Island, who raised an alleged 1,502 pound pumpkin in 2006
- Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants. All Hallows Eve on 31 October marked the end of the old Celtic calendar year, and on that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with a candle inside were placed on windowsills and porches to welcome home spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called "Stingy Jack," hence the name "Jack-o'-lantern".
- The city of Boston, Massachusetts currently holds the world record for most lit pumpkins in one area: 30,128, set on October 21, 2006, beating out the previous record of 28,952 set in Keene, New Hampshire in 2003.
- Illinois produces more pumpkins than any other state in the United States; Michigan is a distant secon