Even though Halloween has come and gone, I thought I would give a tutorial on how to prepare a pumpkin to make jack o'lanterns.
Here is a picture of our three pumpkins fresh from the nursery.
After you cut the top off the pumpkin, you will be greeted with this. You will want to remove all of this as cleanly as possible. Important to note - when you cut the top off the pumpkin, cut at an angle. Do not cut straight up and down at a 90 degree angle. If you do that, the top of the pumpkin will fall inside. You need to cut on an angle so the top has something to rest on. How do I know this? Well, I haven't always been an expert at everything. I learned mostly through trial and error. Take my word for it. Cut at an angle.
Grab your pasta fork and just get right into it. Loosen as much as you can from the sides and then start scooping. Don't worry about cleaning the sides of the pumpkin with the fork. Use it to remove the pumpkin seeds and gunk.
Once you have removed all of that, use the large stainless steel spoon to scrape all around the inside of the pumpkin. The spoon will remove what is left cleanly. Scoop out all that remains.
When you are done, your pumpkin will look like this inside. Perfectly cleaned and ready to carve. Now, I know some of my readers will be using fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Use the same method for cleaning your pumpkins in preparation for pie making.
It is time to start thinking and talking about Thanksgiving. You can not start planning your day too soon. It's not too early to start deciding which china pattern you want to use this year.
Here is a picture of our three pumpkins fresh from the nursery.
These are the tools you will need to thoroughly clean out the pumpkin. 1) a large butcher knife to remove the top, 2) a medium to large stainless steel pasta fork, and 3) a large stainless steel spoon.
After you cut the top off the pumpkin, you will be greeted with this. You will want to remove all of this as cleanly as possible. Important to note - when you cut the top off the pumpkin, cut at an angle. Do not cut straight up and down at a 90 degree angle. If you do that, the top of the pumpkin will fall inside. You need to cut on an angle so the top has something to rest on. How do I know this? Well, I haven't always been an expert at everything. I learned mostly through trial and error. Take my word for it. Cut at an angle.
Grab your pasta fork and just get right into it. Loosen as much as you can from the sides and then start scooping. Don't worry about cleaning the sides of the pumpkin with the fork. Use it to remove the pumpkin seeds and gunk.
Once you have removed all of that, use the large stainless steel spoon to scrape all around the inside of the pumpkin. The spoon will remove what is left cleanly. Scoop out all that remains.
When you are done, your pumpkin will look like this inside. Perfectly cleaned and ready to carve. Now, I know some of my readers will be using fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Use the same method for cleaning your pumpkins in preparation for pie making.
It is time to start thinking and talking about Thanksgiving. You can not start planning your day too soon. It's not too early to start deciding which china pattern you want to use this year.
