Description
These are the two largest winter squash, growing up to 1.7 m in circumference and weighing up to 50 kg.

The pumpkin has a hard, smooth, orange skin, with a dry, sweet, yellowish-orange flesh, and a hard, fibrous, five-sided stem with no bulge at its joining point. The potiron could be called the European pumpkin, though with some differences: it has a tender, spongy, cylindrical stem, flared at the joining point, with orangey-yellow or green flesh.

The pumpkin has not always been the phantom head placed in the window on Hallowe'en night to frighten away the spirits of the dead. In colonial days, housewives would collect pumpkins from their gardens at the beginning of fall. They always kept a few melon-sized squash to cook in the embers like baked potatoes.

Nutritional values per 100 g
Few calories, but high in fibre. Rich in Vitamins A, B, and C (the oranger the pumpkin, the more Vitamin A it contains), and minerals: calcium, iron and potassium.

Buying pumpkins
Choose firm, heavy pumpkins with a hard, even rind, with no blemishes or cracks.

Storage
Keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator crisper.
They will keep from several weeks to more than six months. Some increase in flavour if you leave them for a while before eating them.

Cooking tips
To know if squash are cooked, poke them with a knife, as for potatoes.

Use a hollowed-out squash as a soup tureen. You can even warm up your soup in the pumpkin in the oven to give it additional flavour. In the same way, fill a squash with rice, cubes of pumpkin or potiron, chicken stock and diced mango with some mint leaves or other herb and cook in the oven.

For a nice autumn touch, use the a scooped-out squash as an ice bucket.

Worlwide Gourmet
In North America the pumpkin is usually associated with desserts, cakes, jams and pies, while in Europe these squash are thought of almost as a vegetable.

France - Paul Bocuse's famous soup is a brilliant example: chicken stock blended with a purée of potiron, seasoned with nutmeg and chervil.

Barbados - pumpkin fritters - 500 g of cubed pumpkin flesh, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of soft butter, 2 beaten eggs, 125 ml flour.

Thailand - pumpkin soup - water, coconut cream, shrimp, shallots, small peppers and lemongrass

Portugal - pumpkin soup - sauté shallots and garlic in oil with diced pumpkin. Add some stock or water, and rice. Serve with croutons of fried bread.

Madeira - a flan is made from squash with a little garlic and nutmeg to accompany veal medallions.

Quebec - pumpkin cake - 375 ml cornstarch, 375 ml pumpkin purée, 175 ml sugar, the zest and juice of an orange, 3 eggs. Mix and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve with cream flavoured with maple syrup.