All pumpkins are winter squash- mature fruit of certain species in the genus Cucurbita. Pumpkin fruits are a type of botanical berry known as a pepo which is known as “large melon” in Greek.Pumpkins normally found in yellow, orange, white, green color have smooth and ribbed skin.
Some of the recipes made of pumpkin are -Pumpkin cake,Pumpkin soup ,Baked pumpkin fondue ,Pumpkin salad,Pumpkin chutney,Pumpkin biriyani , Pumpkin pie ,Pumpkin curry, Pumpkin cup cakes , Pumpkin pan cakes .
Pumpkin has some health benefits like enhance good Vision,Lower Blood Pressure level,provide good Sleep ,improve Heart health,improves sperm quality,Reduces inflammations and infections.
As per Botanical saying – fruit should qualify these characters
- A fruit should be a seed-bearing structure in flowering plants.
- A fruit should be formed from the ovary after flowering .
- A fruit should carry seeds .
- Fruits can be eaten raw .
As per Culinary – Culinary means ” for cooking “
Vegetable can be a fruit, Stems, leaves, roots, flower of a plant that is basically edible to cook.
Coming to our discussion Pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable
The answer according to botanist is yes pumpkin is a fruit
Because
- Pumpkin contains seeds.
- Pumpkin formed from a flower.
- Pumpkin mature ovary of a flowering plant and shall be eaten raw.
Pumpkin fruit is also used in cooking like vegetables. Pumpkin is considered to be fruit according to botanist where as we consider pumpkin as Culinary vegetable.Like wise Cucumbers and tomatoes are also considered as fruits but opposed to vegetables.