(This is an archived story)
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)- With Halloween approaching, you don’t have much time left to get a pumpkin. Why get an ordinary pumpkin when you can get one that really stands out?
Almost everyone is familiar with the classic orange pumpkin, but there’s a fairly new pumpkin in the patch, the white pumpkin, but what’s the deal with it?
“We’ve had them for the last 3 years.”
In the last few years more and more white pumpkins are filling patches. The white pumpkins like the orange pumpkins, grow underground. They are white because of the way they are grown.
At Langenstein’s on Metaire Road, Jason Carey, the Produce/Floral Manager said the white pumpkins often times confuse customers.
“A lot of people think they are white squash. When I show them the difference, then that sets them straight. The white pumpkins are flat. They aren’t tall and round. The white pumpkins are more saucer shaped.”
Carey said, “The only difference is the skin. They taste the same. On the inside they look the same too. Some people say they even make better pumpkin pie.”
No longer are the white pumpkins only used as decorations. More and more folks are eating them and making Jack-o-Lanterns out of them.
“The white pumpkins are easier to carve, than the orange ones. The skin is less tough. Your knife will go right through it.”
Similar at the core, but different in price.
“The difference in cost is because less farmers are growing the white pumpkins, so that’s why they’ll cost a little more on the retail side,” he said.
When picking a pumpkin, it is really about personal preference. They are seeing a spike in the popularity of white pumpkins.
“They’ve picked up substantially. Some people are buying 4 or 5 white ones, and only 1 or 2 orange ones,” Carey said.
There are also red and blue pumpkins that are grown too.
Carey said there is nothing spooky about these unique pumpkins.
“Don’t be afraid to try one out,” he said.