[Capri] In Illinois, the colors of fall signal the harvest time of a vibrant autumn icon, the pumpkin.

And here in the Land of Lincoln, they mean serious business.

Well, if you're going to do 30,000 jack-o-lanterns you have to start somewhere.

[Capri] With a range of shapes, colors and sizes... [man] Let me cut this one for you.

Beautiful blue.

And these ones are good for eating, right?

Yes.

[Capri] ...their flesh and seeds offer a rich variety of culinary applications.

Every time you taste the mole, you are going to find layers and layers of flavors.

[Capri] No matter how they're prepared, these colorful gords deliver the comfort of the season.

This is like, the best soup I think I've ever had.

[woman] It is very seasonal.

[Capri] So perfect.

I'm Capri Cafaro and I'm on a mission to uncover the incredible stories of the foods we grow... ...harvest, create... ...and celebrate.

Beautiful, amazing meal.

So, I'm traveling America's backroads to learn our cherished food traditions... Whoa.

...from those who make them possible... Look at that.

...and are helping keep them alive.

There is so much more to learn.

Whoa!

[Capri] On "America the Bountiful."

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.

[Capri] When it comes to growing pumpkins, Illinois holds the national record, harvesting over 690 million pounds in 2023.

More than 90% of the pumpkin pie eaten in America is filled with a puree of decadence squash grown and harvested in the region around Morton in central Illinois.

And it's not just canning pumpkins that are plentiful here.

The prairie state is also the leading producer of ornamental pumpkins from blazing orange jack-o-lanterns to more exotic varieties that would brighten any porch or autumn table.

Here in Highwood, the whole town comes together each October to celebrate carving and lighting the most jack-o-lanterns ever.

The current record is over 30,000.

Catherine Lambrecht is a local culinary historian who loves all things pumpkin, especially the story of the Dickenson squash.

How did Illinois become not just the Land of Lincoln, but how and why did it become the land of pumpkins?

We have to thank a gentleman in 1835 who immigrated here from Tennessee, Elijah Dickenson.

Okay.

And this, by the way, is a Dickenson squash.

Ahh.

The cross of seeds between a Tennessee field pumpkin or squash and a butternut squash.

This is maybe the godmother, the godfather of pumpkins here in Illinois.

I would say there's like an 80-mile circumference around Morton, Illinois growing these pumpkins.

Or squashes.

So, what does this taste like?

The stuff that comes out of the can on Thanksgiving Day.

And is that what made Illinois so well-known for the pumpkin industry if they're making this canned pumpkin out of this Dickenson right here?

Absolutely, that's why.

Well, we're at the right place, at a pumpkin festival, to try all things pumpkin.

There's got to be some pumpkin pie around here, right?

I sure would like that.

[Capri] Local Alderman Eric Falberg first came up with the idea of the community going for the jack-o-lantern record after moving here from the northeast.

So, we're sitting in this village.

[Eric] Yeah, Pumpkin Village.

[Capri] Pumpkin Village.

It actually has a name.

[Eric] Yeah.

[Capri] How did you start this?

So, I used to live in Vermont.

I had a bed and breakfast out there and we used to go to a city called Keene, New Hampshire and they had a pumpkin festival somewhat similar to this where they went to go for the world record of mostly jack-o-lanterns.

Right.

So, when I moved here, and the chamber wanted to do a harvest festival, they're like, "Well, what's a harvest festival?"

They said, "Well, we have some pony rides and face painting," and I'm like, "We need to do something "a little more exciting.

Oh no, we're going big."

[Capri] I think there's 1,000 just right here.

[Eric] Oh yeah, there's probably 1,000 just in a few houses here.

You actually serve many pumpkin things to eat.

Yes.

I'm a lover of pumpkin.

So, you know, you bring it on.

-Yes.

-Fall is my favorite season.

Oh, right here, same here.

And pumpkin harvest season is my favorite too.

So, I came to the right place and it looks like you got a couple things here that are just sitting here that I need to try.

It was really hard sitting in front of these ho-ho's for the last 10, 15 minutes because normally I would be eating some already.

I mean, I'll follow your lead.

They're made from a local bakery and-- [Capri] I'm just going to pick one up.

[Eric] Yeah, please do.

Would you like one?

[Catherine] For sure.

Oh man, this is worth making a huge mess for.

I mean, it's like one of those spice rolls.

I think that there might be some cream cheese in here.

It's super moist.

Yeah.

It literally tastes like fall.

Well, speaking of tasting like fall, pumpkin pie is fall.

I mean, it is the star of the table when it comes to fall eating.

And we have one.

And not only that, it's the pie.

The state pie of Illinois.

Of course, it is.

Of course, it is.

[Catherine] And from the Dickenson Family to you, it's really, I would say, the crowning glory because they developed this recipe.

I mean-- That tastes like the classic pumpkin pie to me.

Sure does.

Good ole Dickenson knows what they're doing.

Well, you know what makes everything else better?

Martinis.

Oh, yeah.

The pumpkin martini no less.

Hold on.

Oh, okay.

We need to top with a little special spices that go on top to add a little more fall.

[Capri] Bring on the fall.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Oooh, that's got a kick.

Oh, yeah.

It's actually made with pure pumpkin puree.

There you go.

I still haven't seen what a carving pumpkin has to offer.

Well, that we'll show you next.

Okay.

And I hear that power tools are involved.

Well, if you're going to do 30,000 jack-o-lanterns, you have to start somewhere.

[Capri] Eric and the festival volunteers core thousands of pumpkins to get them ready for carving and adding to the wall.

-I want to try.

-Yeah.

And it goes really fast.

Once you get used to it, it's pretty easy.

So, are you ready?

I mean, as ready as I'll ever be, right?

Ah ha.

It's artistry.

It's whatever your head says.

What's a little pumpkin goop between friends.

See that's perfect.

Look at this.

And how is this going to light up?

Where's this going to live, on this wall?

Oh, we're going to put it all the way up.

[Capri] All the way up?

Yes, we have to show you how we get it on the wall.

[Capri] High winds prevented Highland from breaking the record this year.

But the wall of orange pumpkins and twinkling lights stands as a testament to how even a humble squash can inspire a community to reach for new heights.

Pumpkins form the backbone of one of the oldest forms of agritourism in America, the pumpkin patch.

Heirloom pumpkins offer thousands of diverse appearances in addition to classic orange.

And visiting a pumpkin farm to see the colors of the season is a favorite activity in rural Illinois and throughout the greater Midwest.

Near Morton, John Ackerman has decades of experience growing Dickenson's squash for the commercial market, but his true passion is for cultivating heirloom varieties.

[John] I'm glad you're here today Capri because I love talking about pumpkins.

Well, I came to the right place.

And I know that you've been farming and your family has been farming for quite some time.

What's the history of the farm?

[John] Well, my great grandfather purchased this farm on October 8, 1909.

So, we're about fourth generation here.

My wife and I have raised our four kids in the house that my great grandfather designed, my grandfather helped to build.

My dad was born in the parlor there.

So, there's family history here.

Well, it's a small family farm with a really big impact which has to be really special for you.

It is.

To be honest, to be on a small farm has been difficult over certain decades.

So, a lot of farmers didn't make it out of the 80s.

Those were tough times.

You know there were like 3 million farmers in the U.S. in 1980, maybe 1.2 million by the time the 80s were done.

Wow.

So, a lot of small farms either went under, or you got a job in town, or you did like we did which was to start doing specialty crops.

What did you change?

How did you shift?

It wasn't easy, but we tried several things.

We tried fresh cut flowers.

We tried sweet corn.

We had various degrees of success.

When we started in the late 90s, generally the pumpkins you would have to decorate with were the orange jack-o-lantern ones.

Yep, just the particular jack-o-lanterns that match your shirt.

Exactly.

That's what people thought of when they thought of pumpkins.

Yeah.

But we did find some sources of some different kind of seeds.

But one of the ones we found was the seed for a blue pumpkin.

Blue, I never heard of such a thing.

I never seen one in my life.

It was a Jarrahdale.

It's originally out of western Australia.

[Capri] No kidding.

We grew some and we put them out on our stand and people honestly, they'd say, "That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen."

Then they'd say, "Give me three of them."

And we knew we were on to something.

Well, you know, because they want to be the people on their block that have the blue ones.

Everyone's going to be envious and say, "Where'd you get those blue pumpkins?"

Absolutely.

And now they can say, "In this front yard right here."

Well, and weird is good.

You know, weird is different.

It's just unusual.

There's something different.

So, out here we raise over 160 different kinds and we're always looking for new ones.

[Capri] John sources seeds for his pumpkins from around the world and his farm gets thousands of visitors each autumn.

This is probably the largest variety of different types of pumpkins I have ever seen.

Some of them in this area are some of my favorite eating pumpkins.

Okay, like?

Jarrahdale.

This is this green one here?

It's amazing.

It has about a 4-inch flesh inside.

It weighs way more than it should for the size it is.

Makes an awesome savory dish.

Okay.

What makes that more savory than maybe a sweet one?

You know all these can be used in all different recipes, it's just people tend to use that one for soups and stews.

Okay.

Never seen a green pumpkin.

I have already learned something new.

What else we got?

This is called a cushaw.

It's wonderful and creamy.

Unlike the others it's-- It looks like a giant butternut squash to me.

It kind of does, except it's not orange inside, it's cream color.

It makes amazing pie.

Well, these are the ones that have that good texture.

They're not stringy.

You could eat a jack-o-lantern pumpkin.

You could cook it and eat it, but it would be somewhat flavorless, and it'd be stringy texture.

Ah ha.

These are better choices.

So, what about these bumpy ones?

So, that's a more modern one.

That's been bred recently or in more modern times.

It's specifically bred for those bumps.

[Capri] No kidding.

Yeah, and it's very decorative but it's not-- They've kind of bred the flavor out of it.

I see.

So, this is more for show not for taste.

Absolutely.

Gosh, there are a lot of different types of pumpkins and squash.

I had no idea.

There's so many choices.

With all these different types of varieties, I'm so curious about how they get harvested.

Let's go out in the field and I'll show you what we do.

[Capri] John's farm offers tractors tours through his pumpkin fields.

And while it may look picturesque, harvesting ornamental pumpkins by hand is hard work.

[John] This is a jarrahdale.

This is one of my favorites.

Oh yeah, this is what you showed me before.

So, take a look.

Yeah, let me cut this one free.

So, here it is.

Beautiful blue.

Feel how heavy that is.

-Whoa!

-Four-inch-thick flesh inside.

That's beautiful though.

And these ones are good for eating, right?

Yes.

Yes.

-I'll put it in here.

-Oh, thank you.

You want to help me harvest?

Absolutely.

You know it.

Here's the tool, a joist.

Thank you.

All right, how about this one right here?

Absolutely.

So, these are some of our white varieties.

We probably have maybe seven or eight or even 10 different white varieties.

No kidding.

These white pumpkins are gorgeous now.

Are these for eating or are these for decoration only?

Or both?

Well, these two are actually more decorative and people just love to put these on their porches.

I'd take them home, that's for sure.

We can line you up.

Here we have to harvest them by hand.

We'll harvest as many as 30,000 pumpkins from this farm alone by hand.

Wow!

Yeah, every one of them.

We got to leave the stem intact and we can't scar up the skin at all.

Well, because if it's going to be on your porch it's got to look good.

[John] It's got to look good.

I mean, look around.

This is truly the iconic view of a fall harvest.

This is why I love what I do.

[Capri] You're feeding people.

You're decorating their porches.

You're making me hungry, even though I guess I've only just harvested a few, but I've already worked up an appetite.

And I'm wondering, with some of these pumpkins that are good for eating, is there anybody around here in the Morton area which is just so well known for its pumpkins that likes to experiment with different types of pumpkins to make different kinds of dishes?

We have someone that we've known for years who is amazing.

I mean, amazing at cooking dishes like this.

I know she'd be glad to help you out with this.

She could take you from the pumpkin you picked into the dish in front of you.

And you'll be so happy you did it.

[Capri] Jayne Benckedorf is a culinary personality in the Morton area known for hosting dinner parties as well as her creativity with the region's most iconic ingredient.

We're going to make a roasted creamy pumpkin soup today.

Yum.

Perfect for our fall afternoon.

So, we are using one of John's favorite pumpkins, the winter luxury.

It's an old heirloom variety.

It's got the orange with the cantaloupe webbing on it.

This is one of my top favorites.

Okay, fantastic.

Well, it sounds like it's perfect.

Perfect to make with the soup.

There we go.

So, the first step is, we're going to cut up one of those pumpkins and into little, I call them like little boats or little wedges.

They're going to come out and they're going to have these seeds here.

Yep.

And the easiest way to get rid of these seeds is to just run a knife ever so easily just right along there.

Oh, see you make it look so easy.

And just like that, the seeds are gone.

You've got my favorite friend, parchment paper.

Parchment paper.

We love parchment paper.

So, we just put them skin side down.

If you want to grab a couple.

[John] You betcha.

[Capri] It's real farm to table right now.

-Absolutely.

-It's real farm to table.

And you probably won't be able to find this particular pumpkin.

Well, you've got to come to me.

That's important.

But local pumpkin growers might have it.

But there are other varieties to ask your grocer for a good cooking pumpkin.

We've got some spices.

[Jayne] So, we're going to put some spices together.

Some salt and pepper, some roasted paprika, some nutmeg, a little bit of cinnamon.

[John] Even outdoors, I can smell this.

-And some cayenne.

-Yes.

[John] It smells amazing.

[Jayne] And cayenne-- So, you've got the sweet and the heat.

And so, almost kind of like a rub.

We're just going to-- -And if you want to do some.

-Yeah.

We are just going to sprinkle it all over.

Just liberally coat everything.

It doesn't have to be perfect because eventually they're all going to get-- -Roasted together.

-Roasted together.

And then they're all going to get cooked together.

[Capri] Jayne roasts the squash and pumpkins along with a head of garlic and then carefully removes the skins once they've cooled.

She then adds them to a sauté of butter, shallots and herbs.

This already smells fantastic in the pot.

So, I'm going to have you add about a cup of that.

So maybe not quite half of that.

That is vegetable broth.

Into the pot.

Woooo.

So, we're getting ready to put it into the food processor.

So, I'm going to turn this off and I'm going to have you use that ladle right there.

[Capri] Got it.

All right.

And so, we're just going to start it on low.

And then turn it to high.

So, we're going to let this process for a little bit.

Make sure it gets nice and creamy.

Yep.

So yep, this is looking pretty good.

[Capri] The puree is strained to create the soups silky texture before it goes back into the pot and is heated to a simmer.

[Jayne] So, we're just stirring the soup.

It's slightly bubbling.

You do want to make sure that it doesn't get too hot because with cream in it, it could separate and curdle.

[Capri] You don't want that.

So, very low heat at this point and we're basically done.

The last thing I like to add is that right there which is some lime juice.

Lime juice?

I know.

I know.

Tell me why?

It kind of gives that balance to it.

The acidity with the cream.

The acidity because you got all of these creamy elements and now it just-- It's not a lot just a tablespoon or so and it finishes it out.

So, I'm ready to eat, but I have a problem though.

[Jayne] Okay.

We had spoons, I saw the spoons, but I don't see any bowls.

Okay.

So, this is like honestly a farmer John trick.

We took some of his cute little pumpkins here-- Oh my god.

--and we have carved them out.

You did not.

I love this.

And so, they are our bowls that we're going to use today.

This is so seasonal.

It is.

Very seasonal.

It is so perfect.

Very seasonal.

[Capri] Jane garnishes the soup with bacon bits, chunks of roasted pumpkin, crème freshe and whiskey maple syrup.

Mmmm.

[John] Oh, that is so good.

That is seriously so good.

This is like, the best soup I think I've ever had.

Thank you.

I've been telling you, I mean, I love pumpkin, this is one of my absolute favorite things, but the different layers of flavor and texture that you've managed to pull off here, the creamy soup, the little bit of heat, whatever you did with the lime juice, which makes this not as heavy.

Of course, my favorite, pumpkin croutons.

I know.

You could fix those any time, right?

The little bit of the crunch of the bacon with the salt and then the literal special sauce, this bourbon, maple, cayenne or paprika, whatever is happening in here this makes it.

Thank you.

It ties the room together.

John, thank you for introducing me to Jayne.

Jayne, you have inspired me to make this when I get home.

My family is going to be so excited.

[Capri] Pumpkins are celebrated as a mainstay, a fall culture in America.

But their origins actually lie south of the border in Mexico where people have been cooking and eating pumpkins for thousands of years.

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States and is renowned for its vibrant dining scene.

Here at Chicago restaurant Istmo, Carlos Lopez represents the culinary culture of his home region of Oaxaca in which mole is a signature dish, a complex sauce that blends roasted chilies, plantains, toasted nuts and seeds, chocolate, garlic and spices.

Mole forms a world unto itself.

Mole in Oaxaca are the king of the sauces.

And the black mole, it's something that changes town to town, family to family, and I try to blend some of my grandma's moles in one.

And one of them has pumpkin seeds which it's the backbone of Mexican cuisine with corn and the chilies.

So, we call it Three Sisters.

So, they grow together in this great harmonious environment.

They feed each other.

Yeah.

And they grow together, that's why they call it the Three Sisters.

Well, they grow together.

They feed each other so they can feed us.

Correct.

And I cannot wait to try your mole, which I know you use pumpkin seeds in.

[Carlos] This is one of my favorite dishes to make.

This is loaded with a lot of emotions.

I always like to talk about black mole because it can reflect life in some way because you know, it's a really complicated sauce.

[Capri] Just like life.

Life is complicated.

[Carlos] Exactly.

Layers and layers of emotions.

Layers and layers of flavors.

You have the sweetness, you have sweet moments, bitter moments, bitter ingredients.

So, everything creates this harmonious and beautiful sauce that can be life too.

You mentioned the emotion and the complexity of this particular mole.

Is there something in your own personal story that makes it that much more emotional for you when you make this?

Yeah.

It's a combination between two different recipes of mole.

My grandmas, one of them was from the coast, so that mole was a little spicier than the other one.

The other one was on the sweet side.

So, I try to blend the two moles where you find the sweetness first.

You have the spiciness on the back.

Every time you taste the mole, you're going to find different spices.

So that's what I'm talking about layers and layers of flavors.

And layers of your family history.

Correct.

Yes.

Okay.

Do you mind if I give this a try?

-No, please.

-Now, what is in here?

That's molotes which is plantain dough.

I love plantains.

With cheese on the inside that comes from my hometown as well.

And like I said, we have a coast, we have plains, so we have great cheese.

There are two different cheeses there.

One, it smells a little more than the other one.

The other one is a little drier, kind of like parmesan cheese.

It's super funky, super strong and it goes really well with the mole.

I was just going to say, it goes so well with the mole because what I'm getting out of the mole here is sweet and smokey.

What makes it like this?

What is the process of making a sauce like mole?

We have different types of chilies in the mole.

In this case it's wahejo, ancho, cascabel, morita and chipotle.

Okay.

And every single one adds a different profile.

The wahejo add this sharp, earthy flavor.

Ancho, fruitiness.

The morita is the small but mighty.

It's super spicy and very smokey.

The cascabel is the one my grandma used to use and that's adds the chocolate flavor.

[Capri] Ah ha.

And spiciness as well.

So, I try to balance both of them.

Well, I'm glad I showed up here.

Now I can't resist the mole verde.

Tell me what's going on here.

[Carlos] This one is a little more herby and I picked the bass because fish again, I'm trying to showcase ingredients from my hometown.

And this mole pairs really well with fish because the herbiness, the acidity of the tomatillos and the earthiness from the pumpkin seeds it makes that a little thicker too.

So, it gives you the body.

[Capri] Yeah.

[Carlos] The texture as well.

Mmm.

Now, you mentioned earthy, as you know kind of a signature note for the mole verde, and I think that earthiness comes from the pumpkin seeds.

It's coming from the pumpkin.

The tomatillos add the acidity, that's why the pumpkin is very, very unique in this mole.

It has some natural oil that helps to mellow the acidity of the tomatillo.

So, it's a little bit of chemistry that's going into this as well.

And you are so right that this pairs perfectly with fish.

I'm trying to bring different herbs native of Mexico, native from Oaxaca.

This hoja santa has this like, licorice flavor.

And it's very tender but very strong at the same time.

Yeah.

Because you can wrap fish and it's so powerful, so floral.

You bring so much heart into your cooking.

Ao much knowledge but with so much purpose that, you know, here you are someone that has come from the birth place of pumpkins and you are showcasing a part of the pumpkin in a way that many of us may not have an opportunity to have experienced and you've done it, you know, in such a tasty way.

Thank you.

I'm very excited to express myself, just like express myself on all my dishes.

And pay homage to everybody that helped me get to where I am right now.

[Capri] Whether it's in brilliant displays that illuminate the autumn spirit or uniform rows of squash being harvested for ready-waiting pie tins, America loves pumpkin season and Illinois leads the way.

The pumpkins of the prairie state tell a story of how agriculture excellence can inspire culinary classics, bringing communities together year after year.

But why take my word for it, when you can come experience it for yourself.

America The Bountiful is waiting for you and me.

For more information visit Americathebountifulshow.com.

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.