When people visit their local family-owned pumpkin patch around Halloween， they aren’t usually looking for dinner. The majority of the nearly 2 billion pounds of pumpkins cultivated in the US each year are carved up instead of eaten， making the squash a unique part of the agriculture industry. For people who prefer seasonal recipes to decorations， that may raise a few questions： Are the pumpkins sold for jack-o’-lanterns different from pumpkins sold as food？ And are Halloween pumpkins any good to eat？

The pumpkins available at farms and outside supermarkets during October are what most people know， but that’s just one type of pumpkin. Howden pumpkins are the most common decorative pumpkin variety. They’ve been bred specifically for carving into jack-o’-lanterns， with a symmetrical round shape， deep orange color， and sturdy stem that acts as a handle.

Because they’re bred to be decoration first， carving pumpkins don’t taste very good. They have walls that are thin enough to poke a cheap knife through and a texture that’s unappealing compared to the squashes consumers are used to eating. “Uncut carving pumpkins are safe to eat; however， it’s not the best type to use for cooking，” Daria McKelvey， a supervisor for the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Garden， tells Mental Floss. “Carving pumpkins are grown for their large size， not the flavor. Their flesh can be bland and the fibers are very stringy.”

To get the best-tasting pumpkins possible this autumn， you’re better off avoiding the seasonal supermarket displays. Many pumpkin varieties are bred especially for cooking and eating. These include Sugar Pie， Kabocha， and Cinderella pumpkins. You can shop for these varieties by name at local farms or in the produce section of your grocery store. They should be easy to tell apart from the carving pumpkins available for Halloween： Unlike decorative pumpkins， cooking pumpkins are small and dense. This is part of the reason they taste better. McKelvey says. “[Cooking pumpkins] are smaller， sweeter， have a thicker rind （meatier）， and have less fibers， making them easier to cook with—but not so good for carving.” These pumpkins can be stuffed， blended into soup， or simply roasted.

If you do want to get some culinary use out of your carving pumpkins this Halloween， set aside the seeds when scooping out the guts. Roasted with seasonings and olive oil， seeds （or pepitas） from different pumpkin varieties become a tasty and nutritious snack. Another option is to turn the flesh of your Halloween pumpkin into purée. Adding sugar and spices and baking it into a dessert can do a lot to mask the fruit’s underwhelming flavor and consistency.

Whatever you do， make sure your pumpkin isn’t carved up already when you decide to cook with it. There are many ways to recycle your jack-o’-lanterns， but turning them into pie isn’t one of them. “If one does plan on cooking with a carving pumpkin， it should be intact，” McKelvey says. “Never use one that’s been carved into a jack-o’-lantern， otherwise you could be dealing with bacteria， dirt and dust， and other little critters.”

人們在萬圣節(jié)前拜訪當?shù)氐霓r(nóng)家自有南瓜地時，他們通常都不是在找吃的。每年美國會產(chǎn)出近20億磅（約合9億千克）南瓜，大多數(shù)都不是用來吃，而是用來雕成南瓜燈的。這使得南瓜成為美國農(nóng)業(yè)一個獨特的組成部分。對于那些偏愛時令美食而不是裝飾物的人來說，他們可能會有幾個疑問：作為南瓜燈原材料出售的南瓜和作為食物出售的南瓜一樣嗎？萬圣節(jié)南瓜的味道好不好？

十月份在農(nóng)場和超市外買到的南瓜就是大多數(shù)人知道的那種南瓜，但這只是南瓜的一個品種。豪登南瓜是最常見的裝飾性南瓜品種。它們是專門為制作南瓜燈而培育的，形狀是對稱的圓形、顏色是深桔黃色，粗壯的根莖可以用來做把手。

因為這種雕刻南瓜首先是用來做裝飾物，因此味道不是特別好。它們的南瓜壁足夠薄，廉價的小刀也可以輕易地插進去，它們的質(zhì)地相比消費者常吃的那種南瓜來說也更不討喜。密蘇里植物園肯珀家庭園藝中心的主管達莉亞·麥凱爾維告訴Mental Floss網(wǎng)站說：“沒有動過刀的雕刻南瓜也可以安全食用，但不是上好的食材。種植雕刻南瓜要的是它們的大個頭，而不是味道。它們的果肉滋味寡淡，纖維多，口感很粗糙?！?/p>

想要買到今秋最好吃的南瓜，最好避開超市的季節(jié)性展銷。許多南瓜品種都特別適合烹飪和食用，包括糖餡餅、日本綠皮南瓜、灰姑娘南瓜等品種。你可以在當?shù)剞r(nóng)場或食品雜貨店的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品區(qū)買到這些品種的南瓜。你應該很容易就能將它們和萬圣節(jié)的雕刻南瓜區(qū)分開來：和裝飾性南瓜不同，用于烹飪的南瓜小而緊實。這也是它們更美味的原因之一。麥凱爾維說：“用于烹飪的南瓜更小、更甜、皮更厚更多肉，纖維更少，這也使它們更便于烹飪，但不太適合被雕刻?！边@些南瓜可以放入填料、加進湯里，或直接炒著吃。

今年萬圣節(jié)如果你實在要把雕刻南瓜做成食物，你可以將瓤掏空后把籽留下。加入佐料和橄欖油一起炒，不同品種的南瓜籽都能成為美味而營養(yǎng)豐富的小吃。另一個辦法是將萬圣節(jié)南瓜的果肉搗成泥，放入糖和調(diào)味品，將其烤成一道點心，這種做法可以極大地掩蓋南瓜濃厚的味道和粘稠感。

無論怎么做，你要確保你的南瓜在烹飪前沒被動過刀。回收南瓜燈的方法有很多種，但是做成餡餅不是其中一種。麥凱爾維說：“如果有人計劃把裝飾性南瓜做成菜，南瓜應該是完好無損的。永遠不要用一個已經(jīng)被雕成南瓜燈的南瓜來烹飪，否則你要面對的是細菌、塵土和灰，還有其他微生物?！?/p>

兩只鳥

Teacher： Here are two birds， one is a swallow， the other is sparrow. Now who can tell us which is which？

Student： I cannot point out but I know the answer.

Teacher： Please tell us.

Student： The swallow is beside the sparrow and the sparrow is beside the swallow.

老師： 這兒有兩只鳥，一只是麻雀。誰能指出哪只是燕子，哪只是麻雀嗎？

學生：我指不出，但我知道答案。

老師：請說說看。

學生：燕子旁邊的就是麻雀，麻雀旁邊的就是燕子。