Within the broad group of fruit and vegetable products, pumpkin occupies a particular position. Although it has traditionally been treated and marketed as a vegetable, from the botanical point of view it is a fruit, and this difference is not minor when analyzing its behavior in post-harvest and transformation processes.
The pumpkin belongs to the cucurbitaceae family, like the melon or cucumber, and shares a key characteristic with them: it is a living organ that continues to breathe after harvesting. This aspect directly conditions its conservation, its stability and its response to handling, both fresh and in the fresh-cut and pre-prepared convenience food range.
Understanding this physiological basis is what allows us to work the product with criteria, as we do at Peris.
A non-climacteric fruit: stability with conditions
Unlike other fruits, pumpkin has a very low respiration rate and does not experience a climacteric peak after harvest. That is, it does not ripen once harvested, but enters a stabilization phase.
This behavior gives it high postharvest stability, but also determines that the final quality depends to a large extent on the condition of the fruit at the time of harvesting, because there is no margin for subsequent improvement.
Thus, once harvested, the work is focused on preserving the initial balance through proper control of curing, storage and handling conditions, since variables such as temperature, humidity and ventilation have a direct influence on the evolution of the product and its shelf life.
Internal composition: the basis of its behavior
From a structural point of view, pumpkin is a product with a high water content, between 88% and 90%. However, its behavior is not only explained by this fact, but also by the balance between its different components.
Natural sugars, mainly sucrose, glucose and fructose, determine its organoleptic profile, providing sweetness and balance. Fiber and pectins shape its texture, which can range from firm to creamy depending on the variety and state of the fruit. Carotenoids, such as β-carotene or lutein, not only define its color, but also influence its stability and nutritional value.
This internal balance is sensitive to external conditions, which requires precise management at all stages.
Texture and cell structure: a critical point in processing
The final quality of the pumpkin is closely linked to the condition of its cell walls. During storage, factors such as inadequate temperatures or high humidity levels can cause structural alterations that result in softening, loss of firmness or color changes.
This aspect is particularly relevant in fresh-cut products, where cutting exposes the tissues and activates enzymatic processes that can accelerate product degradation.
Therefore, the control of the time between cutting, packaging and cooling, as well as the environmental working conditions, is crucial to maintain quality.
Rota pumpkin: a variety with differential behavior
Within this context, the roteña pumpkin has some particularly interesting characteristics from the technical point of view.
It is a variety with a thick skin, high dry matter and an internal structure that favors both conservation and processing behavior. Its lower relative water content and higher sugar concentration allow for a product with greater stability and a more defined sensory profile.
In addition, its firm texture facilitates its adaptation to different formats, from fresh products to pre-prepared and pre-cooked solutions, maintaining a good response both in slicing and cooking.
These characteristics, together with an adequate selection at origin, where we take into account parameters such as density, color or fruit health, allow us to work with a higher level of regularity in industrial environments.
Practical application: from knowledge to process
At Peris, the work with pumpkin, and in particular with the roteña variety, starts from this technical basis.
It is not just a matter of processing the product, but of adapting each phase to its actual behavior. From the selection of raw material to the type of cutting, through storage and processing conditions, everything is aimed at preserving the internal balance of the fruit.
This approach is particularly critical in pre-prepared convenience food, where the requirements are the highest: the product must maintain its properties after cutting, offering an experience as close as possible to the original raw material.
In the pre-prepared convenience food segment, on the other hand, this knowledge makes it possible to take advantage of their thermal behavior, where the concentration of sugars during roasting generates very different organoleptic profiles.
A product that requires knowledge
Pumpkin is a clear example of how a seemingly simple product requires a high level of expertise when worked in depth.
Its stability is not accidental, but a consequence of its physiology. And its final quality depends not only on the origin, but also on the ability to respect and manage this balance throughout the process.
In this sense, working well with pumpkin does not consist in intervening more, but in better understanding the product and adapting each decision to its nature.
At Vicente Peris we have been working for decades with pumpkin in its different forms of commercialization, which has allowed us to develop a deep knowledge of the product and its behavior in each phase.
We approach the pumpkin from an integral vision, working with the first range with demanding selection criteria at origin, developing solutions for the fresh-cut range adapted to its physiology, where the control of the cut and the process is decisive, and applying the same knowledge in the pre-prepared convenience food range to obtain products with an optimal organoleptic profile after heat treatment.
This specialization, built up over time, is what allows us to adapt the product to each channel and need, always maintaining a common objective: to preserve the real quality of the pumpkin and guarantee its performance all the way from the field to the final consumer.