Pumpkin Isn’t Just For Pie Anymore, Says UF Expert

November 20, 2001

BRADENTON, Fla. — Pumpkin pie may be one of the most traditional items on the Thanksgiving menu, but it’s time Americans started thinking outside the crust — with a tropical twist, says a University of Florida researcher.

“Pumpkin is a truly versatile food,” said Don Maynard, horticultural sciences professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “In Latin America and the Caribbean, it’s a staple crop, used in everything from soup to stews to candy. We think it can have greater impact in the United States.”

UF recently approved commercial release of two edible pumpkin varieties Maynard developed. Named “El Dorado” and “La Estrella,” the plants are closely related to butternut squash but produce fruit that resemble green or tan versions of the familiar Halloween pumpkin.

“The difference is, pumpkins used for jack-o’-lanterns are bred strictly for looks, so they have stringy flesh that isn’t very appetizing,” said Maynard, who has bred tropical pumpkins since 1991 at UF’s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Bradenton. “Our pumpkins have a smooth consistency and a flavor similar to butternut squash and sweet potato.”

Often called calabaza or calabash, tropical pumpkin is known scientifically as Cucurbita moschata and is native to Central America. Maynard said specialty crops such as tropical pumpkin hold great potential for U.S. farmers, as the nation’s population diversifies and interest in ethnic cuisine continues to rise.

He said pumpkin soup is considered a national dish in Jamaica, while Cuban cooks use pumpkin in stews such as potaje. In many cultures, pumpkin is cut into sections and baked, much like squash.

“In Mexican cuisine, people make candy by infusing sugar into pumpkin flesh, and that’s delicious,” Maynard said. “Our UF varieties would make a terrific pumpkin pie, too.”

Currently, almost all tropical pumpkins sold in the United States are imported from Jamaica and Central America, although a few hundred acres are cultivated in Florida, he said. The UF varieties were developed specifically for production in the Southeast.

“They tolerate heat and humidity well,” he said. “And because they’re naturally pest-resistant and don’t require much fertilizer, they’re an environmentally friendly crop.”

To make production easier, Maynard bred El Dorado and La Estrella to be bushy and compact. Like all members of the gourd family, tropical pumpkin plants are vines, and some types send out runners 50 feet from the plant’s central stalk.

“The traditional varieties will completely cover a field if you let them,” he said. “That’s OK for very small farms where all labor is performed by hand, but it’s impractical for anyone using a tractor.”

He said the UF pumpkins also mature faster and yield more fruit than traditional varieties.

“We should be able to grow many of these crops and offer them at competitive prices,” he said. “In areas with a significant Latin or Caribbean population, there should be a good market for edible pumpkin.”

But the UF varieties may have to compete with those that are more well-known, said Humberto Soza, administration manager for Atlanta-based Brito Produce, the largest Hispanic-owned produce wholesaler in the Southeast.

“We carry a Mexican pumpkin that’s used mainly for Christmas dishes,” Soza said. “It’s difficult to say how these new varieties will do in the overall American market, but Hispanic consumers might like them. Also, since pumpkin is a healthy food, that could help.”

Health-conscious consumers may appreciate tropical pumpkin’s high beta-carotene content, said Stephen Talcott, assistant professor in UF’s food science and human nutrition department.

Talcott said UF pumpkin varieties have a beta carotene content ranging from 48 to 56 parts per million (ppm). Carrots contain about 130 ppm beta-carotene, sweet potatoes 95 ppm and canned pumpkin 70 ppm.

“Beta carotene is an important antioxidant, and pumpkin is one of the few cucurbits, or vine crops, that provides a good supply,” he said.

UF is searching for a licensing partner to produce and market tropical pumpkin seed in commercial quantities, said Berry Treat, assistant director of research programs in plant breeding and crop science in Gainesville.

“It will be a year or two before those details are worked out and the seed is available to the public,” Treat said. “But we think it will be worth the wait.”