WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.000 Oh hey, it's that podcast host who is afraid of 2 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.000 everyone being too scared and anxious right around Halloween and 3 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:09.400 an election. So I have a really really great new episode. 4 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.880 It's all about desertrology. It's up this week and it's 5 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:16.280 about mortuary makeup. But if you, for some reason are 6 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.960 like m I can't go there and I can't do 7 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.359 skin books either, word, I hear you. And here is 8 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:27.600 an encore presentation of last year's q Curbatology episode about 9 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:31.920 pumpkins with author and Copeland. This is an ologite favorite. 10 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:35.399 Y'all love her, you love her pumpkin wisdom. It is 11 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.159 nothing but just like a ball pit full of hugs 12 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:43.960 and good feelings. So just dive in, enjoy, get cozy, 13 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.759 get a pumpkin, name it, hug it, do whatever you 14 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:50.600 need to do. But yes, happy Halloween, and if you're 15 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.000 in North America, please do vote. Okay, awesome on with 16 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:57.640 the show and Copeland. Oh hey, it's your friend who's 17 00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.840 at the mall and text you photos of genes that 18 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.200 cannot possibly be the new thing. Please tell me Highwaysted 19 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.599 with no pockets isn't a thing? Please? Ali worked back 20 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:09.319 with another episode of Oologies. We're just leaning into this season, 21 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:15.000 crunchy leaves, wood, smoke scarves, glowy little lights in the darkness, 22 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:19.680 this episode Pumpkins. If Pumpkins were a person, I'd be 23 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.760 down to be the roommate. They seem chill, they seem friendly, 24 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:25.239 they seem down for a good time, like they would 25 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:27.920 come and clutch with a pep talk when you need it. 26 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:31.439 Pumpkins seem like totally not assholes. But before we get 27 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.560 into it, let me thank all the folks at patreon 28 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.120 dot com slash ologies for supporting the podcast. Thanks to 29 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:40.040 everyone wearing ologies merch from ologiesmerch dot com. Thanks to 30 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:42.439 all the folks of course who are just destroying that 31 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.799 subscribe button and rating the show and keeping it up 32 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.120 in the charts. And of course you brave souls who 33 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.040 submit a review because you know I care and I 34 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:52.519 pick out a new one each week, such as for example, 35 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:56.519 Alchemist nineteen eighty seven twenty thirteen says dad Ward is 36 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.040 like your long last best friend from kindergarten, you know, 37 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.799 the one you would sneak off to the playground with 38 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.000 and turnover rocks by the pond. I have rebelled against 39 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:06.840 the podcast culture since it's very inception but it's just 40 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.719 not possible to not enjoy this podcast. Alchemist, thank you 41 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:13.360 so much. Let's get into it. Let's turn over the 42 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.639 rock that is cue crepetology. Okay, what in the David 43 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:21.520 s pumpkins is this word David pumpkins? I mean, are 44 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:23.479 we supposed to know who that is? I know you 45 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:25.759 have questions. Okay, I looked it up. Cu creb patology 46 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:29.080 comes from the Latin for gord, and yes, cure patology 47 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.479 looks like cucumbers because they're related. We're going to get 48 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.840 into that later. But also I'd like to note that 49 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.919 the word pumpkin comes from the French for pump pump, 50 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:40.800 which came in a winding viny way from the Greek peppo, 51 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.400 which means to be cooked by the sun. Genus and 52 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:47.479 species of most pumpkins cuc pepo a gourd that's been 53 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:49.840 cooked in the sun. So I was looking for a 54 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:54.120 pumpkin expert, or someone who studies pumpkins, or a pumpkin scholar, 55 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.759 but not just the science of pumpkins, but also the 56 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.680 emotions and the folklore and the history. And I came 57 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:06.639 across a book entitled Pumpkin, Pumpkin Folklore, History, planting hints 58 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:09.840 and good eating by someone who loves pumpkins so much 59 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.599 she studied them intensely in wortal whole book about them. 60 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:15.439 So I tippy tapped around on the internet. I found 61 00:03:15.479 --> 00:03:19.000 this ologist's info. I cold called her. I just left 62 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:22.319 a voicemail at six pm on a Sunday, like a freak. 63 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:24.719 I was driving on my way back from the Mohave Desert. 64 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.080 She called me back like an hour later, and I 65 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:29.840 just I happened to be driving through her tiny town 66 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.439 of Yukaipa, so I pulled over. I chatted with her 67 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.240 for about fifteen minutes before I had the nerve to say, Hey, 68 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:37.599 I know I'm a stranger and it's like eight pm 69 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:39.520 on a Sunday night, but can I come over? Can 70 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:41.680 I talk to you about pumpkins? And she said she was 71 00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:43.960 a night owl anyway, she gave me the address. I 72 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.759 headed over. I'm approaching the porch. Here we go. Hello, 73 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.919 And how could I be so lucky? So she was 74 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:57.719 preceded by a few shuabas and came out in comfy 75 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:00.800 Sunday clothes, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. 76 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:05.199 Right, you made you lovely, lady? 77 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:05.439 Oh? 78 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.400 So are you Thanks for letting me come over, and 79 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.400 I was like, I'm kind of really close to you. 80 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:11.280 Is that okay? 81 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:15.759 That's okay, We're really free for Marina. Oh, you're great. 82 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:21.160 I'm an old old chime. Shit, now you're down, mommy's 83 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:22.839 doing an interview. Okay. 84 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.600 So if you hear any little pup whimpers or the 85 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:29.079 soft gurgling of a nearby fish tank, just consider it 86 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.920 part of the immersive pumpkin experience, which was lovely. We 87 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.319 chatted about what is a pumpkin? How long have we 88 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.199 been carving them up and cooking them down? How many 89 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.000 varieties are there, what else are they used for? How 90 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:43.800 do you pick out a good one, what are the 91 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:48.439 biggest myths and the biggest pumpkins? How memories can follow 92 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:52.519 you for decades, and the fascinating history that led this 93 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.120 pumpkin stud here to embark on her research. So let 94 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.360 a little candle enjoy the flickering and cozy wisdom of 95 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.720 cucrevitology and Copeland. 96 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.759 I'm a senior. I'm going to be seventy eight November 97 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:28.759 twenty second, which falls on Thanksgiving every so many years, 98 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.360 and that's how I one of the ways I come 99 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:32.680 to love pumpkins. 100 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:35.240 You must have had a pumpkin pie for your birthday. 101 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:40.360 Oh, I always had pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin soup, 102 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.319 pumpkin nip, you name it. 103 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:44.480 And did you get sick of having a. 104 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:47.800 Pumpkin Oh no, no, no, no, no, never, never never no. 105 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.560 And it was encouraging to me because I sort of 106 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:54.920 adopted pumpkins is my own thing. So no, I never 107 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:56.519 got tired of pumpkins. 108 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:58.800 And now, were you always really curious? Did you grow 109 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:01.519 up curious as a kid? Oh yeah, Oh yeah, I 110 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:02.160 used to. 111 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:04.720 I used to lie in the grass and look through 112 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.040 the grass and look at insects and try to imagine 113 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.680 what their lives would be like living down there, and 114 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:13.519 you know, what their world was like. 115 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.720 So when we chatted on the phone and described herself 116 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.680 as quote an unconventional senior, woohoo. And when a person 117 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.360 uses wooho as a form of punctuation, you have to 118 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:26.160 make it. You turn and you have to beg to 119 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:28.079 come over to meet this person and hear about their 120 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:30.879 life and how pumpkins fit into the past and the present. 121 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:34.120 Kind of a hippie, I'm very much a hippie, never 122 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.639 into the drug scene and all that. But I love 123 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:40.000 the music. I love the art. I love creativity. I 124 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.279 love people speaking up about things they believe in. 125 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:45.920 Tell me a little bit about your background. What did 126 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:46.399 you study? 127 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.759 Okay, I started out in nursing. When I finally got 128 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:54.639 to go to college, I think I was close to 129 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:59.199 thirty and so I started out in nursing and I 130 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:03.120 went through that about two years. And after two years, 131 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:05.279 I said, gee, I wonder when we're ever going to 132 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.120 get to go to a hospital. This is a four 133 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:09.959 year program. I sort of need to get a sense 134 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:11.959 of what it's like to be a nurse. And so 135 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:14.759 I said, what could I be. Well, my husband at 136 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.639 the time said, you know, I'm going to take you 137 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.920 to this place in Los Angeles. It's called the Johnson 138 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.439 O'Connor Research Foundation, and these people test you based on 139 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.839 your innate abilities, not on questions that they ask you. 140 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.720 So they did this long testing process for days and days, 141 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.240 and then they came up with this idea that he said, 142 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:44.639 you are perfect for archaeology. Oh, I said, archaeology. I said, well, 143 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.279 you know, that does sound really interesting. So I got 144 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:51.879 a degree in archaeology and I actually worked in the field. 145 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.160 I went out into Arizona, New Mexico, and also I 146 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:58.680 went down into Mexico so. 147 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.600 As an archaeologist was researching the pottery of indigenous people 148 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:05.800 of the Southwest and Mexico, looking at some pre Columbian 149 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.800 methods of firing pottery and cooking. And she said she 150 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:09.720 loved the work. 151 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:14.480 So I loved the study. It was kind of perfect 152 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:20.759 for me. Unfortunately, archaeologists have this thing that's known as 153 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:27.839 the archaeological diseases. So I got paratyphoid, and then I 154 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:33.279 got valley fever, and by then I said, you know, 155 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.639 I may not make it monymore years if I don't 156 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:37.480 switch field. 157 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.240 And also worked as a graphic artist doing type setting, 158 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.440 and she started a small nonprofit for people dealing with 159 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:48.399 physical and developmental challenges. She said she was deeply affected 160 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.279 by her brother's experience in Vietnam after he returned with 161 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:55.480 a brain injury and PTSD. This woman's heart is a 162 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.120 cucurbado maxima, which is a species of giant pumpkin, which 163 00:08:59.120 --> 00:08:59.960 we'll talk about later. 164 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:05.120 And I love people. I love relating to other people 165 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:08.200 of all kinds and helping them in different ways. I 166 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.759 taught illiterate adults. I did a lot of things in 167 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:14.519 my life, So then how did I come to write 168 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:15.320 this book? 169 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:19.320 Solid question. So Anne's husband at the time was an 170 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:22.080 anthropologist who was super encouraging. 171 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:24.480 And he said, you know, you're you're good at writing. 172 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.159 You like to write. Why don't you become you know, 173 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:29.519 why don't you write a book? He said, why don't 174 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:33.799 you write a book about I don't know? Pumpkins? And 175 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.960 we had been to Virginia when we first got together, 176 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:42.080 and I had never been there before. It was raining, 177 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:46.320 it was in the winter or fall. It was muddy everywhere, 178 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:49.879 and we were driving through the hills and I just 179 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:55.279 suddenly said, pumpkins, We're coming to pumpkins. And he said, no, 180 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:58.480 don't be silly, there's no and he didn't even finish 181 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.720 his sentence. We come over the top of the hill 182 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.120 and they're on the right side down at the bottom 183 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.879 of the hill and right in the mud puddle. And 184 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:09.559 the biggest mud puddle is this pumpkin stand. So I 185 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.039 had to go and get my pumpkin right then. And 186 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:14.799 I had to you know, you don't just go get 187 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:18.600 a pumpkin. You have to evaluate it right. You have 188 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.360 to make sure it has the qualities, and the qualities 189 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:24.720 change every year, because you know, they're magical. They don't 190 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:28.240 just stay the same. So I went and picked this 191 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.320 really really big pumpkin because I decided I had to 192 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:34.519 have a big, big pumpkin. Now, mind you, we had 193 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:39.080 to fly back from Virginia to California, so I wouldn't 194 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:41.320 let go of my pumpkin. So I took it on 195 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.960 the plane with me. And it was so cute because normally, 196 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:47.399 you know, people are kind of like they're looking at you, 197 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:49.399 Oh gee, what are they up to? Could they be 198 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.960 a terrorist? Who knows? You know, but even the pilot 199 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:57.399 everybody was smiling and they were like, oh yeah, take 200 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:02.000 it in, and so so kind. That kind of started. 201 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.960 And had a few friends who were cornert chefs with 202 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:08.120 this huge library of vintage books, and she would leave 203 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:09.679 through them just mesmerized. 204 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:16.720 And they had this remarkable collection of old, old, old cookbooks, 205 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.879 I mean from the eighteen hundreds, and in fact, every 206 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:23.799 recipe was cooked on a wood burning stove in an 207 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:28.600 iron pot, and there were no measurements. So Luisa and 208 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:32.960 I had fun trying to figure out how much do 209 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.960 you think? Oh, I don't know, what do you think? 210 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:38.759 And like I said, I'm unconventional in a sense. Number one, 211 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:42.879 I don't make a recipe twice the same way. And 212 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:47.519 number two, I questioned things that are called for to 213 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.639 put in and I addressed this in my book because 214 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.120 I don't want anybody to go she forgot to tell 215 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:56.000 me to put in a quarter teaspoon of salt, and 216 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:00.200 my cooking is ruined, you know. And so I I 217 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.480 told people, you know what, salt is a very personal issue. 218 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.039 And I did a little bit on the history of salt, 219 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.559 and I said, you know, salt is your choice, but 220 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.320 it's not an essential. You're not going to ruin your 221 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:15.480 recipe if you don't put salt in it at all. 222 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.000 And I said, why should I tell you a quarter 223 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:22.159 of a teaspoon when maybe you want to put a 224 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:25.039 whole teaspoon or even a tablespoon. It's up to you. 225 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:29.279 You want to kill yourself, really have had it, you know, 226 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:34.559 have fun. So that was that was how I got 227 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:38.039 into so Luisa and I would try out all these recipes, 228 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:40.720 and like we made we made pumpkin soap, and it 229 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:44.480 was one of our funniest experiences because neither of us 230 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:47.759 had made soap before and they're calling for like mutton 231 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:51.399 fat and things like that that we didn't really have. 232 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.440 So we sort of had to figure out, well, what 233 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:57.960 would be like mutton fat. I'm like, could we go 234 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:01.080 get the donkey down the street or about a gooser? 235 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:04.480 And what should we use? And we just kept experimenting 236 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:06.799 and it took us a long time to get it 237 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.759 to where we actually were able to make it, but 238 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.240 we did do it. So that was that was a 239 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:12.919 heap of fun. 240 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:15.600 And now getting back to how to pick a pumpkin? 241 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.279 Uh huh, how do you pick a pumpkin? What are 242 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:18.840 we looking for? 243 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.360 It's going to be different every single time you go. 244 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.799 It's going to be different. The color's going to be different, 245 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:27.600 the shape of the pumpkin's going to be different, the 246 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.480 size of it, whether it has a stem at the 247 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:33.720 top that's long, or whether it doesn't even have a stem, 248 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.960 And it's going to change every year according to what 249 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:40.799 your you know, your person. It's i mean, it's magic 250 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:43.600 every year. You'll know it when you see it, and 251 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:47.200 it may take a long time to figure it out, 252 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.679 but that's half the fun of getting one. 253 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.480 So for a decorative pumpkin, use intuition. You can summon 254 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.000 your spidey sense, tap into some witches magic, and just 255 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:01.000 get magnetized to the right way. Now, if you're going 256 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:03.840 to eat it, the darker, the green stem and the 257 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.639 orange skin mean it's ready to be picked, ready to 258 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:08.799 be purchased, and you can hold it up to your 259 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:11.960 ear and you can thump it. And the louder that hollow, 260 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:15.120 echoey sound, the better the pumpkin. In side note, if 261 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:19.159 you ever need to lovingly threaten someone, say for venmoing you, 262 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.360 for enchiladas when you said they wear your treat, or 263 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.360 not texting you the second they get home safe, you 264 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.519 can always say that you'll thump them on the pumpkin. 265 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.679 That's been a word family threat for years and it 266 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.200 translates to I love you, how dare you? And now, 267 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:34.399 what about some varieties of pumpkins? 268 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.519 Oh, there are a lot, a lot, a lot of 269 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:42.879 pumpkin varieties. Now, a pumpkin is not a typical fruit. 270 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.200 It's also not a vegetable. Oh it's not. No, it's 271 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:49.279 not a vegetable. It's a fruit. Not well, sort of 272 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:53.240 a pumpkin, believe it or not. Is a berry? Oh? 273 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:58.279 What it's a berry? Why it's a berry? Because it 274 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:03.240 said I'm going to be a berry, and it's very true. 275 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.000 It's a freakin berry, y'all. It's a frickin berry, and 276 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.879 I looked it up. And so are cucumbers. And avocados 277 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:15.120 are a berry. Bananas are a berry. Eggplants are a berry. 278 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:19.559 These are berries. They are fleshy seeded fruits. They're formed 279 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:24.320 from a single flower containing one ovary boom berries. Anne says, 280 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:26.679 the biggest fum flam she's here to debunk is that 281 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.440 pumpkins are not a vegetable, and in her book she 282 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.360 calls the pumpkin a botanical platypus, but refer to them 283 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.720 as a vegetable. She might thump you on the berry. 284 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:40.720 So, yeah, you have a lot of fun with pumpkins, 285 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:44.519 because there's a lot of really different things about pumpkins. 286 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:48.320 They come in different sizes, shapes. They were grown in 287 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:53.720 Mexico way way back, even before the Incas and so forth. 288 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.519 They were grown in China way way back. So I 289 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.559 don't know what the Chinese name all right to say, 290 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.960 for those of you who speak fluent Chinese, I'm sorry, 291 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:06.159 I don't mean to disappoint you. 292 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.960 And what are some of your favorite varieties of pumpkin. 293 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:16.080 I like, there's a pumpkin that is green, that has stripes, 294 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:22.120 and sometimes it has red and green, and they're very small. 295 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:24.519 I think they're called kabashi. 296 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:27.879 Okay. These little pumpkins are Japanese, and if you google 297 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.879 image search kobacha in Japan you will find all manner 298 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.200 of pumpkins. But to English speakers, kobacha needs a short 299 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:39.559 squat squash that you've probably had in tempura, and you 300 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.639 either save it as the last piece you eat as 301 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.279 a treat, or you eat it first because life is short, 302 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:46.879 and someone at the table may say, ooh, can I 303 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:49.360 have some of your tempura, and you want the pumpkin 304 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:53.039 one for yourself, you gotta eat it fast. Ps Australians 305 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:57.200 call all kinds of squash pumpkin. It's calabasa and Spanish 306 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:00.559 and candied in Mexico for Day the Dead Festivity, and 307 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:04.039 the British used to call them pumpions. Now the smooth 308 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:08.079 doorstep pumpkins where used in America are Connecticut field pumpkins, 309 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:10.319 and the smaller ones that we make in at pies 310 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:15.240 are sweet sugar pies, and there are Jarendale blue pumpkins 311 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:19.359 Casper white pumpkins. The pumpy ones are called peanut. There's 312 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.480 Long Island cheese pumpkins because they look like a cheese wheel. 313 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:27.480 There are others called white ghost, warty goblins, and baby boo. Essentially, 314 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:29.720 just come up with a new pumpkin and give it 315 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:33.039 your cat's weirdest nickname. You're good to go. But how 316 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:34.240 do you make a new pumpkin? 317 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:38.759 If you want to cross pollinate pumpkins, you can't just 318 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:42.640 put the seeds together and expect them to grow a right. 319 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:45.279 You have to literally hand pollinate them. You have to 320 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:46.400 pretend to be a bee. 321 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:47.599 I'm a bumblebee. 322 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:50.519 Go out there and buzz around and take your little 323 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:55.839 cue tip and hand pollinate them. And then sometimes they 324 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.640 will grow for you, and sometimes they won't. It depends 325 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:03.680 on the level of the type of pumpkin that it is. 326 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:08.240 So back in the day when I started working on 327 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:12.240 the Pumpkin Cookbook, it was pretty incredible because I'd go 328 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:16.079 to the grocery store. They would have gotten the Halloween 329 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:19.319 pumpkins out, but they'd have a lot of pumpkins left still, 330 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.759 and I'd tell them I was writing the book, and 331 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:25.000 they'd give me a whole I mean, I had people 332 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:29.119 give me a whole basketful, a whole grocery basketful of 333 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:32.119 pumpkins for free because they wanted to get rid of 334 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:34.519 them anyway, and they said, oh, wow, you know you're 335 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.680 going to write, okay, good, here take them. During pioneer 336 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:41.960 days because they didn't aliways have a flour available, and 337 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:46.079 they also did noise have food for the cattle, so 338 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:51.240 those were used in particularly back East to feed the 339 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:55.039 cattle and also to get flours. So they would they 340 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:59.000 would slice the pumpkins and get the seeds out of them, 341 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:01.640 and then they would hang up on the ceilings to dry, 342 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:04.440 and then they would grind them into flour. And they 343 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.559 actually made pumpkin flour. I didn't know that. 344 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:10.519 Ye tell me a little bit more about the history 345 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.880 of pumpkins. So South America, right, and guys, And then 346 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:19.200 at what point did they start growing them in North 347 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.359 America and Europe? I mean, they're pretty much grown on 348 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:22.880 every continent, right. 349 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.559 Well, they figured that the American Indians were growing them 350 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:30.119 for a while. They just may not have looked like 351 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:33.400 the pumpkins we have today. They might have looked more 352 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:36.480 like a squash. For example. They might have been smaller. 353 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.720 They believed that the seeds were very healthy for you, 354 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:42.880 which they are. So they believe that they would take 355 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.960 away like parasites and things like that. So they would 356 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:49.279 eat the seeds and dry them and eat them. 357 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.279 Okay, Note how ancient are pumpkins? Did they come from aliens? 358 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:58.240 Probably not. Scientists have found seeds that are over seven 359 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.279 thousand years old. They were genated in Central America. Is smaller, 360 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:06.359 more bitter, little gourds, and indigenous populations all over the 361 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:10.440 continent have for centuries use pumpkins in stews. 362 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:11.119 Dried them. 363 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:14.880 They use them in medicine, squash blossoms which also side 364 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:18.559 note amazing fried, thank you very much. Those were used 365 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:21.680 for skin injuries, and from eighteen thirty six to the 366 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:25.359 mid nineteen hundreds pumpkin seeds were recognized as a remedy 367 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:29.200 for intestinal infections, and more recent research has been on 368 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:33.279 the l tryptofan in pepita seeds helping with symptoms of depression, 369 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.400 which part of that is probably just sitting there cracking 370 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.759 them with your teeth is so dang dang fun. Also, 371 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:41.839 according to Kaiser Permanente's website, there have been pumpkin seed 372 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:46.119 medical trials showing promise in reducing kidney stone risk and 373 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:50.359 helping with a parasite that comes from snails. So your 374 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:55.240 glowing porch orb contains a little botanical wizardry. You mentioned 375 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:59.319 earlier that pumpkins are magical. Oh, absolutely, we'll talk a 376 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:01.720 little bit about how you feel about pumpkin. 377 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.359 Yeah, I mean, it's not just the pumpkin itself, it's 378 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.000 the whole season that it ushers in. It's all the 379 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:14.279 good things that we know and love, getting together with friends, 380 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.799 changing our personality via a costume. 381 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.319 Halloween quick reminder, is the eve of all hollows day 382 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.920 to honor saints, and the tradition of dressing up comes 383 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.960 in part to embody the costume that you're wearing and 384 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:31.279 partly to scare off the demons that are just all around, 385 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:34.519 just chilling, waiting to cross the boundary and to death 386 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:37.119 the next day. It's kind of like right before some 387 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:41.039 holy day, we need to just wild out and get stupid, 388 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:44.519 like Marti Gras before Lent. You got New Year's Eve, 389 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.480 before all of our January first resolutions take effect. And 390 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:52.160 then there's always those soggy eyed squads of pre wedding 391 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.400 bachelor and bachelorettes just vaping through Las Vegas casinos weeks 392 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.279 before a wedding. Now, some researchers have found a link 393 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:03.200 between higher caloric intake in the colder months, attributing it 394 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.680 to old kind of hardwiring for storing up on fat 395 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.000 before a fast. So Halloween is the time to dress 396 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.160 up like someone who can kick more ass than you 397 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.000 can in order to ward off evil, and also to 398 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.200 eat all the candy you can because death looms close 399 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:20.240 and the fruit trees will be bear in the winter. 400 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.160 It makes sense. 401 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.680