周芳芳

一到万圣节，就会有许许多多南瓜被雕成南瓜灯，这些南瓜颜色鲜艳又饱满，不知道吃起来味道怎么样呢？

实际上，装饰性南瓜和食用南瓜完全是不同的品种，前者是不建议食用的，因为不是很美味，如果真的要吃，那一定要选用没被雕刻过的南瓜。

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？

人们在万圣节前拜访当地的农家自有南瓜地时，他们通常都不是在找吃的。每年美国会产出近20亿磅（约合9亿千克）南瓜，大多数都不是用来吃，而是用来雕成南瓜灯的。这使得南瓜成为美国农业一个独特的组成部分。对于那些偏爱时令美食而不是装饰物的人来说，他们可能会有几个疑问：作为南瓜灯原材料出售的南瓜和作为食物出售的南瓜一样吗？万圣节南瓜的味道好不好？

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.

十月份在农场和超市外买到的南瓜就是大多数人知道的那种南瓜，但这只是南瓜的一个品种。豪登南瓜是最常见的装饰性南瓜品种。它们是专门为制作南瓜灯而培育的，形状是对称的圆形、颜色是深桔黄色，粗壮的根茎可以用来做把手。

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.”

因為这种雕刻南瓜首先是用来做装饰物，因此味道不是特别好。它们的南瓜壁足够薄，廉价的小刀也可以轻易地插进去，它们的质地相比消费者常吃的那种南瓜来说也更不讨喜。密苏里植物园肯珀家庭园艺中心的主管达莉亚·麦凯尔维告诉Mental Floss网站说：“没有动过刀的雕刻南瓜也可以安全食用，但不是上好的食材。种植雕刻南瓜要的是它们的大个头，而不是味道。……