The Porcelain Doll Pumpkin: Everything You Need to Know

Pumpkins come in so many interesting shapes and colors from classic orange to unique blue, but have you ever seen a pink pumpkin? The Porcelain Doll Pumpkin is a beautiful pumpkin variety with an unexpected color. Keep reading to learn all about the pretty pink Porcelain Doll Pumpkin including how to use it and where you can get seeds to grow your own.

Characteristics of the Porcelain Doll Pumpkin

Porcelain Doll Pumpkins have a round and blocky shape with deep ribbing. When ripe, they are a pale pink color with smooth skin. The flesh inside is light orange and very tender when cooked.

They are medium-sized pumpkins, weighing between sixteen and twenty-four pounds each. One plant usually yields two or three pumpkins. They are often grown as ornamental pumpkins because of their unique color and attractive appearance, but they are very good for eating as well.

The Porcelain Doll Pumpkin has dense, sweet flesh with a strong pumpkin flavor. They are delicious in a variety of recipes like soups, pies, and muffins.

The Origin of the Porcelain Doll Pumpkin

The Porcelain Doll Pumpkin is a hybrid variety developed by Jacob Froese of Colorado Seeds Inc. The company breeds seeds and distributes them directly to seed companies where farmers, commercial growers, and home gardeners purchase them to grow.

Eating Porcelain Doll Pumpkins

Nothing says fall like the taste of pumpkin. The sweet flavor of the Porcelain Doll Pumpkin makes it the perfect choice for pumpkin pie and other sweet treats like pumpkin muffins and cupcakes. It’s also delicious in savory recipes like soup or risotto.

Pumpkin Puree

Porcelain Doll Pumpkins can be used in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin. Here’s how to make a puree with your Porcelain Doll Pumpkin:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. You can save these for roasting. Place the two pumpkin halves cut side down onto a baking sheet and place in the oven.

Cook the pumpkin for 45 minutes then check it for doneness. The pumpkin should be soft and pierce easily with a fork. If it’s not soft enough, you can put it back in the oven for another ten minutes or so.

When the pumpkin is soft, take it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature before removing the skin and pureeing it in a blender or food processor.

After taking out the required amount for your recipe, you can save extra puree in one or two cup portions for future use. Simply place the puree in freezer-safe bags, seal tightly and place in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Pumpkin puree is a great way to add a boost of nutrition to all kinds of recipes. You can add a scoop of pumpkin puree to smoothies, soups, pasta sauce, and other dishes. You can even sneak some into mac and cheese if you want your kids to eat more veggies.

Health Benefits

Not only are pumpkins delicious with a rich fall flavor, but they’re also good for you too!

Pumpkins, including the Porcelain Doll Pumpkin, are high in many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, and lutein.

These important nutrients do all kinds of good things for your body like supporting your immune system, improving eye health, and promoting healthy bones.

Pumpkins are low in calories so you can enjoy them guilt-free all season long. They’re high in fiber which is important for digestive health. They also have a high water content which is great for keeping you hydrated and maintaining healthy skin.

How to Use Porcelain Doll Pumpkins

Decorating

With their pretty pink color, Porcelain Doll Pumpkins are a beautiful addition to your indoor or outdoor fall decorating. Arrange them on a table with flowers for a beautiful centerpiece, or put some Porcelain Doll Pumpkins on the porch for a fall-themed display.

They pair especially well with blue Jarrahdale or white Casperita pumpkins for a modern twist on a traditional fall decorating scheme. The blocky shape makes it easy to stack the pumpkins, or if you’d rather you can display them in a group. Odd-numbered arrangements look balanced so try grouping three or five pumpkins together at a time.

For a more traditional look, pair Porcelain Doll Pumpkins with timeless orange pumpkins. The pink pumpkins provide a surprising pop of color to add interest while the orange pumpkins keep the look classic.

You don’t have to stick with fall-themed decor either, the unique pink color of Porcelain Doll Pumpkins makes them the perfect decoration for a fall wedding shower or baby shower. The ideas for decorating with these pretty pink pumpkins are endless!

Growing Your Own Porcelain Doll Pumpkins

You can grow your own crop of pink pumpkins at home.

Porcelain Doll Pumpkins need rich, fertile soil. They grow best in full sun and they need lots of room to spread out. Even though each plant only produces two or three pumpkins, the plants are large with sprawling vines.

Plant seeds twelve inches apart in late spring or early summer after the last danger of frost has passed. After they sprout, thin plants to twenty-four inches per row.

Porcelain Doll Pumpkins take about 110 days to mature. If you live in a zone with a short growing season, you can start pumpkin seeds indoors and transplant them to the garden when the weather warms up.

Diseases to Watch Out For

Pumpkins are susceptible to mildew diseases like powdery mildew and downy mildew. The Porcelain Doll Pumpkin has some resistance to powdery mildew but it’s still helpful to be proactive in preventing it.

To reduce the risk of your plants having problems will mildew, water in the morning rather than in the evening and water the base of the plant. Avoid watering the foliage.

Where to Get Porcelain Doll Pumpkins

For full-grown pumpkins, check with your local farmer’s markets and pumpkin patches in the fall.

If you want to grow your own Porcelain Doll Pumpkins, you’ll probably need to start them from seed. You can check with your local garden center and nursery in the spring to see if they offer this variety as a seedling but it isn’t as common as some other varieties so you may not be able to find it.

Porcelain Doll Pumpkin Seeds are also somewhat unique but they aren’t too hard to find. Check with your local nursery or garden center or order online from Hoss Tools.

The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation

The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation was started in 2012 in order to help raise money for the fight against breast cancer. The Froese family (who developed this variety and produce the seeds) donate $10 to the foundation for every 1,000 seeds sold. Carol Holsopple-Froese, a breast cancer survivor and wife of Jacob Froese, is the president of the foundation.

The foundation encourages farmers and commercial growers to donate a portion of sales from pink pumpkins back to the foundation which they then donate to fund breast cancer research.

Visit The Pink Pumpkin Patch Foundation website to learn more about this special organization

Time to Enjoy Some Porcelain Doll Pumpkins

Are you ready to get some of your own Porcelain Doll Pumpkins? Whether you want to use them for decorating or for eating, you can’t go wrong with this unique pumpkin variety.

Excited for more pumpkin content? Keep learning all about pumpkin plants to become an expert on pumpkin planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and more!