During fall and winter, I sampled a lot of raw pumpkin to select for flavor. I haven’t been in the habit of eating raw pumpkin before in the quantities I was doing. I noticed at several occasions that my stomach seemed to have a harder time to digest it. No overt symptoms of food poisoning, but some slight stomach unease. Searching doesn’t tell me there should be anything to be worried about. The genus does contain cucurbitacines, even if they’ve been mostly bred out and in my understanding those poisons can be detected on the tongue. Zucchini is commonly eaten raw.
You are probably reacting to the benzoates in the sap. They are antimicrobial compounds that some people are sensitive to (I am and it limits me eating much cooked pumpkin too. Common synthetic preservative in a lot of processed food as well).
I would think first that it’s from introducing a new food and doing it relatively quickly, not in very small amounts and increasing very slowly over time.
Cooking definitely changes digestibility. That’s why even feed lots do things like steam flaked grain in order to get the animals to digest absolutely as much as possible of the grain they’re paying for.
Benzoate can be coupled with any number of positive salt ions like sodium or potassium but it has about the same effect. Some other fruit are fairly high in it as well.
I am allergic to raw pumpkin. Processing pumpkin seeds makes my hands itchy and raw. It’s a mild allergy, but considering how much it irritates my hands, eating it has no appeal!
Cucurbitacin not always is detectable by taste. It is rather that small amount is always present and usually it does not cause harm. Bigger amount gives bitterness and warns about toxicity. You might have reacted to that small amount that is not sufficient to make fruit bitter.
If I understand this right, Cucurbitacin hasn’t been fully bred out yet? Also Do Cucumis melo (Melons) have this too? In other words should we cook frim Muskmelons like Squash? and what if Squash was Juicy like the one I had a few weeks ago (Similar to the Firmest of muskmelons)?
I’ve noticed that sometimes the Seed Section Strings can be a little bitter (How Little? Like almost Not Noticeable level of Little). I’ve noticed this for some C. maxima like Kabocha had faint bitterness but Buttercup and some Acorn Squash (C. pepo) didn’t have bitterness around seeds/strings.
Wait could this be the sap/glue that Squash sometimes bleed out to seal a wound or when cut? I’ve seen little weevils try to nibble my squash but the squash fought back by “bleeding” out sticky sap which left them immobile, leading to death by starvation.
I believe the sap that oozes from pumpkins is rich in benzoates to prevent microbes from colonising the pumpkin. It seems like once the fruit has run out of sap pressure it doesnt take long for it to go rotten.
In that case, could a lot of the benzoates be removed in some way? Chopping up the squash and letting the stuff ooze out?
Among my harvested squash (pepo) this year I had one that just oozed and oozed and oozed from the stem cut. It was amazing. I eventually threw it out because it was making such a mess of everything, and I suspected that something was wrong with it. And yet the other fruits of the same variety rapidly healed over and stopped oozing.
With Moschata, I always sample the raw fruit. I find a good Moschata actually tastes better raw than roasted (personal opinion).
That clear substance that bleeds out after the fruit is cut… I’ve noticed some fruits have more of it than others. Therefore, I assume there is an opportunity to select against it.
This substance doesn’t bother me at all. I assumed its function is to close off wounds like a liquid bandage. I assume the function of the fruit to the plant is to house the seeds until the next spring, then slowly rot down and provide a fertilizer for the next generation. I assume the vines are to deliver fruits away from the mother and away from other fruits to establish a colony of its own kind. The liquid bandage is there to close off wounds when animals or what not step on it and deliver damage that might otherwise expose the seeds before the ideal time. These are just thoughts that have come to me. It might not even be true.
I chop up pumpkin and soak it in water for a while before cooking since I seem extra sensitive to benzoates. I do the same to sweet potato for the latex and potato and carrot too. Probably due to my herder/viking heritage where we mostly lived on meat, milk and fish.
Fascinating, is that what actually happens to every squash before they rot?
Interesting, I don’t yet know if it’s something to select against cuz that feature helps fruits survive harvesting damage.
Won’t it rot afterwards?
Interesting, do you use it like carrots? I’ve Noticed a lot of Squash when Ripe and Crisp taste like Carrots, Particularity that frenchy worty Pumpkin galeux d eysines, has a very Carrot like texture that’s enjoyable raw. Also are you selecting moschata squash for raw taste only in your landrace efforts? Have you also tried slight microwaving squash chunks? That’s what I do when I wanna eat squash and I’m lazy.
Hmm so your ancestors landraced themselves to a diet of Meat, Milk, and Fish. Can Epigenics/Vertical Gen Flow play a role in adapting your sensitivity? In other words can you overcome your sensitivity theoretically? Who’s Landracing who? maybe both you and your plants are Landracing each other (Or do I have my head up my ass again with Theoretics?)
I might also try soaking the squash chunks to see if they taste better that way. Also does it make a difference if the squash you eat is Wet & Juicy (Had an Orange Squash that had a mini puddle of juice after I took the Seeds out) or super dry & Firm (Like Buttercup/Kabocha)?
Sort of. I chop up some pieces and eat them raw while I am processing it for cooking. Most of it goes to pumpkin pie or cooked inside a vegetable soup like a diced potato or carrot.
I select for raw taste. I haven’t gotten sophisticated enough to select for both raw and cooked taste yet but I can imagine playing with that eventually.
I have never tried the microwave on it.
And these are strictly moschatas I am talking about that are very close to butternut squash in taste and texture. I threw out that mixta I had to the compost pile. If it’s not orangish inside with a consistent firm texture, I am just not interested.
I remember Lofthouse saying that If it Taste good Raw, it will taste good Cooked aswell. I’ve Tested this with a lot of different types of Grocery Store Squash, it’s very True except for the Most Watery of Squashes (Only because the Carrot Texture was nice, but Cooked turned it crumbly, wet, juicy, slob).
Very Based, you know exactly what you like. I’ve never Tried a mixta, does it taste any good? Also be careful cuz Compost piles are Squashes Favorite Growing Site. Also I’m pretty sure that deep orange color is how you ID C. moschata, I’ve never seen a C. mixta (C. angyrosperma) get that orange. Has anyone else noticed this?
Good to know. I will have to try that. I’ve sometimes wondered whether Maxima squashes are a little rough on my digestive system, and maybe this is why. Pepo and Moschata seem fine, but Maxima are the easiest to grow here.