Seminole pumpkins are a cultivated variety of crookneck squash related to butternut squash and calabaza.
Traditionally grown by the Calusa, Creek, and Miccosukee peoples, Seminole pumpkins remain one of the tastiest and most reliable pumpkins for Florida gardens.
Seminole pumpkins come in a variety of shapes and colors. While generally rounded and dull orange, their appearance can vary—even on the same plant. The inner flesh of Seminole pumpkins is orange and tastes like butternut squash, but sweeter.
Thanks to their thick skin, Seminole pumpkins can be stored for up to a year in a dry location with enhanced ventilation. More realistically for Florida’s humid climate, they can be stored for a few months. To preserve their harvested Seminole pumpkins, aboriginal Floridians sliced and dried the fruit.
Young, green fruits can be harvested and eaten without peeling. The beautiful yellow flowers are also edible: raw, stuffed, or even fried.
The name “Chassahowitza,” given to a region on the gulf in Southwest Florida by the Seminole people, means “pumpkin hanging place.” This is likely a reference to the method by which the pumpkin grows, as the Seminole and the Miccosukee people would plant the pumpkin seeds at the base of girdled trees, so that the pumpkin vines would grow up the trunk, and the pumpkin fruit would grow to be hanging from the bare limbs.
Of the many traditional recipes developed for its use, Seminole pumpkin “bread” is so highly regarded that it is still featured during tribal ceremonies and at a tribal-owned restaurant, though it is more similar to a fritter or empanada than bread.
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