Month: November 2021

Todays post is about Pumpkin, Melons and Squash. My friend told me an interesting fact about these guys, so I decided to research further. What I found out is that the Latin name for all these food items collectively is the Cucurbitaceae family. It is also called the gourd family and they are all categorised as fruits. This plant family includes roughly 975 species of food and ornamental plants.

About the family

Interestingly, all Curcurbitaceae plants are vines, usually with rather rough, hairy, toothed leaves with the fruit developing on a short stem. Some species are recorded as being among the earliest cultivated plants. This group also has one of the highest percentages of species used as human food. These include cucumbers, melons, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, and many others. There are also some fruits grown for use as ornaments and containers, and some are used for medicinal applications and other purposes.

Pumpkin and Squash

These are some of the most common members of this family. Though the word ‘pumpkin’ is confusing as any hard-skinned squash could be called a pumpkin. It seems that there’s no botanical distinction that makes a pumpkin a pumpkin. Both are fruits that grow on a vine and belong to the same family. They just belong to different groups within that family. Although the differences between a pumpkin and squash are not obvious, there are several differences between them if you look closely.

What are the differences?

One difference between pumpkin and squash is the stems. Pumpkin has a stem that is hard and jagged. The stem of a squash is light and hollow. Squash grows in various shapes and sizes, however pumpkin has generally a more round shape. Both are high-nutrient foods, however there are some notable differences between the two.

• A cup of unprocessed, cooked squash has:

82 calories 8 grams of protein 18 grams of fat 50 grams of carbohydrates Contains high levels of vitamin A, B6 and magnesium

• A cup of unprocessed, cooked pumpkin has:

49 calories 76 grams of protein 17 grams of fat 1 gram of carbohydrates Contains high levels of vitamin A, E and potassium

Where do melons fit in?

So melons aren’t squash or pumpkin however they are still part of the very large Cucurbitaceae plant family. Squash and pumpkin are just part of a different group, which also includes gourds. The word melon refers to both the fruit and the plant that it comes from. The most defining feature of a melon comes from its sweet and fleshy fruit. Some common melons in this group include cantaloupe, honeydew and sugar melons. On a side note, watermelon, one of the most popular varieties of melon, is in even another group. Many of the fruits of this family look very similar when young, but the differences show as they mature. As they mature the melons have a dramatic decrease in starch content, develop higher moisture content, and more sugars. So, as you can see, the watermelon, squash, pumpkin and melon are all part of the same big family. However, each has it’s own genus or group. I hope you found this information interesting. Till the next post, Live clean n prosper (Sources – Ask any Difference, Science Direct, Wikipedia, Britannica, The Cookful )