Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Pumpkin

Ingrediente

Origem
from the Americas, cultivated by Indigenous peoples before the arrival of Europeans
Também chamado de
jerimum, moranga

Pumpkin (abóbora) is a sweet-fleshed, soft-textured squash very present in Brazilian cooking in soups, mashes, sautés, sweets and cakes. Known in some regions as jerimum, it comes in varieties such as moranga, Japanese, butternut and neck pumpkin, each with its own shape and sweetness.

Characteristics

Pumpkin flesh ranges from pale yellow to deep orange and turns creamy once cooked or roasted. The skin is usually hard, requiring a large, sturdy knife to cut safely. When buying, choose pieces heavy for their size, with intact skin and no soft spots or cracks. Once opened, pumpkin should be kept refrigerated and eaten within a few days. The seeds can be washed, dried and toasted with salt as a snack.

Uses in the kitchen

Pumpkin works in creamy soups, risottos, mashes, sautés with carne-seca, escondidinhos and roasted salads with quinoa. Roasted in cubes with olive oil, salt and herbs, it gains concentrated flavor and golden edges. In baking, it goes into cakes, pies and compote-style sweets, pairing with coconut, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. It also matches aged cheeses, bacon, sausage, onion and chili.

Substitutions

Among varieties, moranga, Japanese and butternut swap well in soups, mashes and risottos, with small adjustments of time and liquid, as some are drier. Menina and neck pumpkins work in sweets and sautés. In mashes, mandioquinha and sweet potato give similar creaminess, but with distinct flavor. In cakes, pumpkin purée can share space with grated carrot or mashed banana.

Fun facts

Roasting pumpkin before blending the soup leaves the broth fuller-bodied and sweeter. To cut with less effort, warming the whole piece in the oven for a few minutes softens the skin. The name jerimum is widely used in the Northeast and refers to the same pumpkins as in other regions. Frozen in already-cooked cubes or as purée, it speeds up soup prep during the week.

Recipes with pumpkin

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