I noticed last week that my local grocery store not only has pumpkins, but for some strange reason, it also has white pumpkins. I know they’re not a new thing, I just can’t recall seeing many of those before. I know I’m not blind, because you’d have to be to not notice those things. So, I thought I’d do a little research on this odd looking member of the squash family.

These eerie-looking white pumpkins actually go by different names. Ghost pumpkins, Snowballs, Luminas or Caspers, presumably a reference to the friendly ghost. The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw one was albino!

I have no idea if these pumpkins are just as white on the inside as they are on the outside, but apparently white pumpkins can be substituted for orange pumpkins in many recipes, whether you’re baking white pumpkin pie or concocting a pumpkin soup. The satiny texture and sweet pumpkin taste of the Lumina variety is excellent for baking. A white pumpkin pie? No thanks. I could never eat a pie that’s the same colour as the whipped cream I lather on top of it.

I guess my research on this odd looking squash could have gone in to a bit more detail, but why? I’ve  made it 57 years without knowing anything about the “White Pumpkin,” so I figure I can go another 57 without needing to know any more than I learned this morning. Thank you Google.

At least now when someone brings a white pumpkin up in a conversation, I’ll have a better idea of what in the world they’re talking about.