Pumpkin: An Ancient Cultivated Plant at Its Peak
Colourful, diverse in shape and versatile in use – pumpkins experience their heyday especially in autumn. The cultivation of this giant berry in Switzerland has grown considerably in recent years.
Bred from just a few wild varieties, there are now countless colours, sizes and shapes of this berry fruit.
They differ not only in appearance, but also in taste, storage life and flesh texture. Some are edible, others serve purely as ornamental plants.
Pumpkin cuisine is highly diverse. Raw in salads, cooked as soup, in cakes, processed into jam – pumpkins are delicious and also healthy. The berry fruits are rich in vitamins, contain 95 percent water and are therefore low in calories.
Pumpkin seeds are a popular snack and also provide valuable nutrients. The flat, asymmetrical seeds taste great in muesli or salads and are rich in trace elements and vitamins. Unlike the flesh, the seeds are high in calories.
Pumpkin seed oil can be extracted from the seeds and is ideally suited for salads. Pumpkin blossoms can also be used in cooking. Fried or deep-fried, they taste excellent.
Due to their colourful and versatile appearance, pumpkins are often used as decorations. Non-edible ornamental gourds frequently adorn homes and gardens. At Halloween, hollowed-out pumpkins such as the Jack O’Lantern – with a carved face – are particularly well known. This variety was specifically bred as a carving pumpkin for ease of sculpting.
Pumpkins are popular in direct marketing
The Swiss pumpkin season begins in August and lasts through February. Pumpkins are sensitive to frost, love sunshine and require nutrient-rich soil.
This giant berry has been cultivated for over 10’000 years and is therefore one of the oldest cultivated plants in existence. Originally from the Americas, where the pumpkin was considered one of the staple foods among the Mayas and Aztecs, it is now more popular than ever here in Switzerland.
The cultivation area of edible pumpkins marketed through trade has grown to over 400 hectares in recent years. However, the largest share of pumpkin marketing takes place directly from the farm, which is why the cultivation area cannot be precisely defined.
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