WHAT’S IN A NAME?
When it comes to working out the difference
between squash and pumpkins, the food historian
William Woys Weaver plays it straight. The word
pumpkin is a “term of convenience,” he says,
because pumpkins are really just a type of squash.
Botanically, all squash are members of the
Cucurbitaceae family (along with some gourds,
cucumbers, and melons). Almost 100 genera and
800 or so species are represented in this happy
family. Pumpkins and squash mostly come from
three species: Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata, and
C. pepo. Pumpkins and gourds are usually C. pepo
types, but zucchini and crookneck yellow squash are
also C. pepo. Most winter squash belong to the
C. maxima group, but butternut squash is in the
C. moschata species.
To keep it simple, the experts at Texas A&M
University put it this way:
YOU CARVE PUMPKINS,
YOU EAT SQUASH,
AND YOU DECORATE
WITH GOURDS.
GALEUX
D’EYSINES
YUGOSLAVIAN
FINGER
FRUIT
PATISSON
PANACHE
JAUNE ET VERT
SCALLOP
