The Connecticut field pumpkin (''C. pepo)'' is a type of
pumpkin. It is an
heirloom variety
An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia and New Zealand), or heirloom vegetable (especially in Ireland and the UK) is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particular ...
, the "standard"
and "classic" pumpkin, "one of the oldest pumpkins in existence".
Widely used for
autumn decorations, either whole or as
jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the reported phen ...
s,
it is also suitable for
culinary purposes.
Said to differ little from
winter squash
Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus ''Cucurbita''. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, are ...
grown by Native Americans in
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
times,
the name "Connecticut field" references the area where the ancestral variety was found,
as well as
the traditional system of planting pumpkins in
corn fields.
Like most pumpkins, the Connecticut field pumpkin is large (), round, and orange, with smooth, slightly ribbed skin.
The "New England pie pumpkin", also known as the "small sugar pumpkin", which is smaller in size but considered to have superior cooking properties, is said to be taken from a strain of this cultivar. The Howden pumpkin is a strain selected from Connecticut field pumpkins for improved production and uniformity of fruits,
and is described as "the original commercial jack-o’-lantern pumpkin".
References
{{Squashes and pumpkins
Squashes and pumpkins
Food plant cultivars