Ready for harvesting in late summer, thanks to the fact that it can be stored for many months pumpkin is one of the great protagonists of autumn and winter cuisine. It comes in many varieties that belong to two large families: the Cucurbita maxima and the Cucurbita moschata.
There family of Cucurbita maxima includes large roundish pumpkins with bark variously colored, often ribbed or bugnose; among the most known varieties, there are the Mantovana, the Marina di Chioggia and the Beretta Piacentina. The pumpkins belonging to the Cucurbita moschata family have an elongated shape and a smoother skin, such as the Piena di Napoli, the Trombetta di Albenga and the Butternut.
The most common varieties
In business there are several types of pumpkin, from the classic ones to those related to a particular territory, up to the result of crossings and experiments. The most common are the following.
Pumpkin Mantovana. Originally from Mantua and cultivated in Northern Italy, it is considered one of the most prized varieties on the market. It is characterized by a rounded and slightly flattened shape; it has a green and very hard skin; it is appreciated for its compact and pasty pulp, which has a bright orange color; the taste is sweet and very delicate.
In the kitchen, it is ideal for preparing gnocchi and stuffing tortelli. But its sweetness and its delicacy make it suitable for every type of course, from the appetizer to the dessert. It can be baked, steamed, barbecued or fried. The seeds, once roasted and salted, are excellent as an aperitif.
Pumpkin Marina of Chioggia. Originally from Veneto, this variety is also a flagship of our production. It is a late pumpkin with a rounded and flattened shape; it has a green skin, very thick, both ribbed and bugnosa; the pulp is floury, yellow in color and has a sweet taste; it can be kept for many months becoming even richer and more sugary.
In the kitchen, his pulp particularly mealy it makes it suitable for baking or for preparing purée and gnocchi; it is used, as an alternative to Mantovana pumpkin, in the filling of tortelli. It is also harvested slightly unripe for the preparation of mustard.
Pumpkin of Provence or with red flesh. It is native to South America and has become famous in France, where it has found its ideal environment in the South, in Provence. Round and flattened, it is recognizable because the skin is colored from green to yellow, up to orange and is divided into regular segments in the shape of a clove; when it is ripe, the pulp is rich in water (up to 94%) of an orange color tending to red and has a sweet and very strong taste.
In the kitchen it is enhanced in soups or velvety. Of particular interest is the richness of fibers and the low caloric intake due to the low content of simple sugars; moreover, it is particularly rich in vitamin A, C, beta-carotene and mineral salts such as potassium, calcium and phosphorus.
Pumpkin Butternut. Particularly widespread in the United States and in the Anglo-Saxon countries, for some decades it has also been appreciated in Italy. As its name says, the flavor reminds those of fresh hazelnuts and is very sweet; this pumpkin has an elongated shape reminiscent of a peanut and has a soft, compact and buttery pulp; the peel is light orange, slightly wrinkled.
In the kitchen, it is exalted in soups, in creams and in the past, but can also be used in making gnocchi and risottos. It also lends itself to the preparation of different side dishes, desserts and homemade bread. When it is harvested very ripe, it can also be eaten raw. It is one of the pumpkins that can be kept for longer.
Pumpkin Full of Naples. It has an elongated and cylindrical shape and contains a large quantity of pulp: for this reason it is called "Piena"; the peel has a color ranging from hazel to green and is very thin, a characteristic that makes processing very quick and easy; the orange flesh has a sugary taste and is very aromatic.
In the kitchen, it is excellent cut into thin slices, grilled and then served in oil, vinegar, salt and chilli pepper; however, the classic use is with pasta al sauce of pumpkin; it can also be used raw in salads, marinades, or steamed or baked.
How to choose and keep it
If you buy the whole pumpkin, you need to check that it is soda and heavy and that the peel is hard, uniform and has no dents; the petiole must be soft and well attached to the vegetable. Gently tapping the rind, you must hear a thud. To choose the right weight pumpkin, we must remember that the pulp is about 70% of the vegetable.
To preserve it for a long time, simply place it in a place fresh and dry, but tradition has it that it should be consumed by Carnival. If you buy in slices, it must be kept in mind that it must be consumed within a few days because it dehydrates quickly; otherwise, it can be stored in the freezer.
Alessandro Gnocchi
17 October 2016
updated November 2019 by Claudia Minnella
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