Since today is National Pumpkin Day I figured we’d dive into one of this season’s great questions… why are pumpkins orange?
If you’ve been to a pumpkin patch this year for pumpkin picking you’ve probably noticed that pumpkins change color from green to orange. For pretty much the same reason you see tree leaves change color in the fall. They also change under the same conditions as leaves. Most pumpkins contain organic pigments called carotenoids. That’s what gives their flesh and skin that classic orange color we all know and love. But you’ve probably seen pumpkins are not orange. How does THAT happen?! Certain pumpkins are bred to be white, red or even blue on purpose. A lot of things factor in to making this happen like day length, temperature, and moisture in the air.
So when you’re sitting down to carve pumpkins this week now you can tell the whole family why they are orange!