Emily left off a couple of important historical facts. We no longer raise corn in the U.S. for food but to make bio-fuel for our vast fleet of Hummmm-Veee's. Most families have at least two. (GM is working on an alternate-fuel Hummmm Veee that runs on french fries and hamburger patties, a major New World food group unknown in Europe and Asia before Columbus.) Corn (an Indian name for Charmin) was only used for its cobs prior to the introduction of Sears Roebuck Catalogs. The majority of pumpkins are never eaten fresh. The reason for that is that Halloween is a national holiday. Pumpkins can be used for patriotic tableau's and nothing else. Powdered Soy Pumpkin Food Product is used before October 31's and after that Pumpkin jerky can be had almost anyplace you would find road kill treats. Typical U.S. yard display: http://www.panoramacamera.us/pumpkinmoon.jpg AZ Build a 120/35mm Lookaround! The Lookaround Book. Now an E-book. http://www.panoramacamera.us > -------- Original Message -------- > From: "Emily L. Ferguson" <elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: Mon, October 15, 2007 12:37 pm > To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students > <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Just for Chris and those on the list who don't live in the US. > In the US the pumpkin is a moderately large winter squash - it has a > hard, inedible skin and soft pulp up to 2" thick in the center of > which sit all its seeds and the filaments which divide the seed > compartments. > We use the pulpy flesh for pie, first preferably steaming it and then > mashing it and adding egg, sugar, spices and cream or milk to make it > pourable. We bake the pie without a crust. It is a sweet dessert > pie, not a main dish sort of pie. > We also use the pulpy flesh as a base for various sorts of cookies, > muffins and heavy tea cakes, especially blended with chopped nuts. > The skin and filaments are discarded, preferably into some sort of > composting operation. > The seeds are dried and ejected from their cases. They are flat and > maybe 1/2" long and 1/4 wide at the widest midpoint. Often they are > roasted and salted and sold in little packets at convenience stores. > Pumpkin seed oil is a very small market here in the US. > The final use for pumpkins is as decorations at the time of all > hallow's eve. The pumpkin seed mass is eviscerated and a face is cut > into the pumpkin wall so that a candle inside the pumpkin will shine > through the cuts - eyes, toothy mouth, eyebrows, noses. The object > of the game is to display the jack o' lantern on Hallow'een evening > to greet young people, preferably children, who dress up in scarey > costumes and bring a bag into which candy and fruit treats are placed. > Much entertainment is gained from the trip to the farm to buy the > pumpkin, the carving of the face and the brief excursion at dusk to > collect the "treat"s. Then the parents throw out the scorched > pumpkin and pay the dentist bill. > Corn, scientifically called zea mays, grows on a single tall green > stalk, cobs of it protruding from nodes along the stalk. It is > planted in rows for easy harvest and grows up to 5.5' or 6' tall. > The cobs have a leafy covering around them to protect them from > creatures that might eat the individual kernals which contain the > seed and a starchy coating inside a thin skin. The kernals grow in > rows along the cob. > Humans eat the corn kernals, mostly from plastic bags of frozen corn > or tins of canned corn which they buy at the market. During the very > brief ripening season, the corn is eaten directly from the cob after > gentle boiling or steaming with lots of butter. The dried corn is > also milled into a coarse meal which is baked into tortillas, corn > bread and coatings for other foods like fish fillets, chicken > products and hot dogs. Some like to stuff chicken or turkey with a > mixture of corn bread and herbs as well. > A different variety of corn is grown as feed for chickens, ducks, > geese, pigs and cows. This is not tender and suitable for human > consumption and is purchased dried in bags from the feed store. > Yet another variety of corn is grown to extract the sugars within the > starchy coating, which is sugary for a brief period before turning to > starch. Much more of this type of corn is grown in the US than any > other kind, since corn syrup is the primary sweetener in processed > foods throughout the world. > On this continent we also use the dried stalks as seasonal > decorations, tying them in bunches around pillars on our porches or > creating scarecrow characters to lounge among the stalks and hay > bales on our laws between Hallow'een and American Thanksgiving time. > Anything to make a buck! > -- > Emily L. Ferguson > mailto:elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > 508-563-6822 > New England landscapes, wooden boats and races > http://www.landsedgephoto.com > http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/
