Honest Truth

It’s that time of year again when the pumpkins need to be picked in time for Halloween. Rebecca Mcewen, owner of Arnprior Farm in Stirlingshire, which has its own pumpkin patch, tells Tracey Bryce the Honest Truth about the spooky orange fruit

How did you get into pumpkins?

We are the fourth generation of Mcewen family to farm Arnprior and we couldn’t be happier to be developing, diversity and enjoying our “time” at Arnprior Farm. Arnprior Farm was established by my Duncan’s family in 1936 and was primarily a beef, sheep and arable farm until 2015 when we decided to sell the cattle, increase sheep numbers, and try out diversification in the form of pumpkins. Some thought we were mad. They still do! In five years, we have grown thousands of pumpkins and welcomed more than 1,500 people to our farm each year.

Where does the word “pumpkin” come from?

It originated from the Greek word for “large melon” which is “pepon”. In English, the word is also an alteration of the French word “pompon” which means “melon”. Pumpkin came into the English language in the 1640s.

Are pumpkins fruit?

Pumpkins are often mistaken for vegetables but are indeed fruit. According to the official definitions published by Encyclopedia Britannica: “Fruit, in its strict botanical sense, (is) the fleshy or dry ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds”. Fruit also tends to grow from the flowers of the plants, ie apples, bananas, berries and pumpkins!