Infographic on the chemistry of pumpkins. The colour of pumpkins is due to carotenoid compounds such as beta-carotene, the same compound that gives carrots their orange colour. The vegetal aroma of pumpkins is mainly due to cis-3-hexen-1-ol, along with other six-carbon alcohols and aldehydes. Canned pumpkin is often not the same type of pumpkin as those used for carving, and consequently the aroma compounds differ, including burnt-smelling 2-methylbutanal, coffee furanone, and furfural. Pumpkin spice flavour has little to do with pumpkin and more to do with the spices added, including cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
Click to enlarge

With a week to go until Halloween, it’s time to get carving pumpkins! Before you do, check out this graphic on the chemistry of pumpkins I made for C&EN previously (you can download the graphic on their site here). Stay tuned for more Halloween-related chemistry over the coming week!

Enjoyed this post & graphic? Consider supporting Compound Interest on Patreon!

%d bloggers like this: