Instagram | @wincofoods

So, Apparently Canned Pumpkin Is Actually Filled With Squash And We're Shook

Updated August 16, 2021

There will be NOTHING stomping on my pumpkin parade, people! Oh...oh no! It looks like I spoke too soon, because a big ole giant can of SQUASH is tearing through my precious pumpkin parade as we speak!

As a wise man Aubrey Drake Graham once said in his album title, nothing was the same.

Imagine you heard that the precious pumpkin packed into cans, ready to be used for pies, muffins, breads, and cakes was actually squash.

Unsplash | Maddy Baker

I'm sure you would have the same reaction as I had when I learned this just minutes before writing this article.

I was shocked, flabbergasted, speechless — it felt like everything I had ever known in life was wrong.

According to the ultimate fact-checking source Snopes, most pumpkin puree is made of Dickinson pumpkins, which aren't as iconic as the bright orange and plump jack-o'-lantern pumpkins we know and love.

Instagram | @newmorningacres

Now, the rumors that pumpkin puree is actually squash puree have made their rounds, but technically, jack-o-lantern pumpkins are also part of the squash squad. It's difficult to actually distinguish between a squash and pumpkin because there is no botanical definition for pumpkin.

So, we've all been carving squashes. Sorry fam.

Of course, this is all really playing with our minds, because we've been thinking all this time we were consuming a big orange pumpkin.

Instagram | @wincofoods

Popular pumpkin puree company Libby's actually developed the Dickinson squash, and they're going to need to squash some beef with us!

But don't worry, if you're buying from the brand Libby's they're not throwing any other squash into the mix.

Instagram | @bensonhurstmarket

It's 100% Dickinson pumpkin, okay? It might not be bright, big, orange, and Insta-worthy pumpkin we love and adore for pumpkin spice season, but it's sure tasty.