Pumpkin: properties and uses of Pumpkin

Pumpkin for diabetics

Contrary to what one might think, the pumpkin, very sweet and tasty, is a food friend of low-calorie diets, even suitable for diabetics due to the lack of glucose. Although the uses of pumpkin in the kitchen are very numerous, we must not forget that the plant - thanks to the countless beneficial properties - is also widely used in the herbal, phytotherapeutic and cosmetic fields.

Use in the kitchen

The seeds, as we saw in the previous article, can be eaten after salting and drying (or roasting in the oven); even the flowers are edible, and they are delicious fried or, simply, seared in a pan as a base for omelettes or pasta.

The pumpkin pulp lends itself excellently to a thousand uses: in fact, after having deprived it of the rind - a rather complex procedure because it is very hard and massive - the pumpkin can be steamed or boiled to prepare soups and stews, but it can also be cut into cubes and cooked in the pan like the classic roast potatoes, then adding extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and - to those who like it - even rosemary. An alternative method to prepare the pumpkin is baking: after having cut the pumpkin in half, without seeds and carefully washed, it can be cut into wedges and cooked directly in the oven. But the uses of pumpkin in the kitchen are not yet finished: in fact, the pulp boiled or cooked in a pan, after being crushed, can be the basis for original cakes and sweets.

How to Open and Clean Pumpkin

At cooking school to learn to recognize a good pumpkin and learn the correct technique to open and cut it. Having understood all this, with the help of our video recipes, preparing dishes like risotto with pumpkin and rosemary, pumpkin and potato cream or light pumpkin and apple cake will be child's play!

How to Clean and Cut the Pumpkin

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Nutritional analysis

After the culinary digression, we proceed to describe the pumpkin in nutritional terms. We have seen that the vegetable is among the low-calorie foods, providing only 18 Kcal per 100 grams of product: this is due to the large quantity of water contained in it, estimated even around 94.5%. Carbohydrates amount to 3.5%, while proteins, very few, make up only 1.1%. The fats, almost absent, represent about 0.1%.

Being orange, it is obvious how the pumpkin is a mine of carotenes and pro-vitamin A; moreover, it is rich in minerals, including phosphorus, iron, magnesium and potassium; good is also the quantity of vitamin C and vitamins of group B.

Phytotherapeutic properties and uses

In phytotherapy, the "pumpkin" drug refers mainly to seeds, containing cucurbitin, tocopherols, tocotrienols, steroids (1%), proteins, pectins and fatty oil. In addition, a modest amount of minerals, such as selenium, copper, zinc and manganese, is also included in pumpkin seeds.

The seeds are not toxic, since the main bitter steroids characteristic of Curcubitacee (curcubitacine) are absent: therefore, the consumption of seeds does not give side effects (except for those sensitive to one or more substances that characterize the phytocomplex).

The marker of the drug is represented by the cucurbitina (different from curcubitacina): it is a pyrrolozidinic amino acid to which the known anthelmintic properties are ascribed, therefore effective against worms in general and tapeworm in particular.

Furthermore, the pumpkin seed extract seems to be particularly active also against cestodes and roundworms: to consider, however, that the cucurbitin does not kill the parasites, but simply immobilizes them; for this reason, it is good to administer laxatives after taking pumpkin seed extracts for this purpose. The quantity of this amino acid molecule varies according to the pumpkin species considered: in C. maxima, the quantity of cucurbitin is estimated at around 1.9%, while in the species C. pepo it varies between 0.2 and 0.7 %.

The oil obtained from pumpkin seeds is rich in oleic and linoleic acid: these fatty acids carry out their therapeutic activity in synergy with carotenoids and protochlorophylls, as a natural remedy for hyperlipoproteinemia. The therapeutic use of pumpkin seed oil is also recommended in the prophylaxis of atherosclerosis.

In light of recent studies, it seems that pumpkin seed oil is also useful in cases of bladder phlogosis, gastric irritation and prostatic disorders, especially in association with Serenoa repens .

Pumpkin pulp, on the other hand, being rich in carotenoids, is particularly indicated for fixing the tan and, at the same time, it is one of the hypothetical foods useful for the prevention of tumors.

In addition to what has been said, the pumpkin is also used to lighten nervous problems; last but certainly not least, the pumpkin has good refreshing, diuretic, laxative and digestive properties.

Pumpkin and cosmetics

The uses of the pumpkin also extend to the cosmetic sphere: with its pulp, in fact, it is possible to prepare some simple face masks, very useful to hydrate the skin, smooth the skin and clean it deeply. Furthermore, pumpkin-based masks are also indicated for soothing sunburn.

Example of a face mask: crush some seeds with a slice of pumpkin pulp, mix the mash obtained with a little honey, apply the mixture on the face and let it rest for a few minutes.

Oily skins with black points, thanks to the pumpkin mask, are cleaner and hydrated.