The pumpkin is hardly a discreet vegetable, notably due to it’s vibrant colour and its tendency towards colossal size. With a long shelf life similar to that of ham, it matures little by little. Our mothers and grandmothers have always mixed them in soups and sauces, as the sweetness of pumpkin provides an excellent contrast with the saltiness of ham.
Pumpkins harvested to carve for Halloween jack-o'-lanterns have become famous as well as holiday competitions for the largest pumpkin; reaching one, two, five or even nine hundred kilos. However even pumpkins that are irregular, elongated, rounded or deformed in shape, grown, for example, around the Mediterranean Basin from Barcelona to Cadiz, are prized by chefs for its dense meat, intense and floral taste and its delicious fleshy texture.
Mediterranean Basin