Have you already asked yourself whether you can eat pumpkin raw? Here you will get the answer and we will explain what you should pay attention to during preparation.
Can you eat pumpkin raw?
The most important news first: Pumpkins can be consumed raw. They taste good, for example grated in salads, smoothies or even in cakes. If you want to eat a Hokkaido pumpkin raw, you don't even have to peel it beforehand, but you should wash it off thoroughly.
For all other types of pumpkin – such as butternut, nutmeg or spaghetti pumpkin – however, the bowl cannot be eaten. With us you can find out how to peel a pumpkin.
Be careful with home-grown pumpkins
Ornamental pumpkins, on the other hand, are unsuitable for consumption – they must not be eaten raw or cooked, otherwise there is a risk of food poisoningwhich in the worst case scenario can be fatal. This is due to the bitter substances cucurbitacins contained in the pumpkin family: They can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, among other things.
The bitter substances were bred from the culture pumpkins available in the supermarket so that they do not pose any danger. However, you should Be careful with wild and home-grown pumpkins: If they grow near ornamental pumpkins or use their old seeds from the previous year, this can lead to unwanted backcrossing. Incidentally, the same applies to zucchini, since they are also a cucurbit. You can find all the information about this in our article on eating zucchini raw.
Eating pumpkin raw: Always do the taste test
Before processing a pumpkin, you should try a small piece first: If it tastes bitter, you shouldn't eat it. The bitter substances also stay in the pumpkin when it is cooked, so you unfortunately have to dispose of the vegetables. With cultivated varieties from the trade you are on the safe side, as I said, and you can eat the pumpkin meat raw without any problems.
Here you will find many delicious pumpkin recipes, for example for pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie. We also explain how you can hollow out a pumpkin, store a pumpkin or freeze a pumpkin. Do you actually know whether pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable? We'll tell you!