Step 1: choose the right pumpkin
The choice of pumpkin depends on what you plan to use it for later . For example, if you want to carve a pumpkin for Halloween , you can use a large carved pumpkin . If you want to use the hollowed out pumpkins to serve soup , the Hokkaido pumpkin is best because it has an edible shell.
In general, it can be said that small pumpkins are more difficult to hollow out than large ones. In addition, the fruits should not have any cracks or bruises . You can recognize a ripe pumpkin by the fact that it has a hard shell and sounds hollow when you tap it.
Step 2: cut off the lid
So that the pumpkin has a good standing surface, you should cut it off a little at the bottom so that a flat surface is created. You can choose between two variants for the lid: If you want to serve pumpkin soup in it, cut the lid relatively flat with a sharp knife . This ensures that as much content as possible fits into the pumpkin.
It looks especially nice on a Halloween pumpkin if you scratch a zigzag pattern. In any case, you should cut into the lid in a wedge shape and leave the handle on, then the lid can be easily removed later.
Step 3: hollow out the pumpkin
Now you can scrape out the pulp with a large spoon or ice cream scoop and hollow out the pumpkin. Leave a thick border of about two centimeters to keep the pumpkin stable. You can also use a flashlight to illuminate the inside of the pumpkin and check whether the light shines through the bowl.
Step 4: further process the pumpkin
If you are hollowing out a pumpkin , you should definitely save the inside . From the pulp can be for example a delicious pumpkin pie or pumpkin pie bake or pumpkin compote , pumpkin puree and pumpkin jam manufacture. You can find more pumpkin recipes on our Pinterest pin board .
You can also roast the pumpkin seedsor sow next spring and grow new pumpkins. You can also use it for a delicious pumpkin seed soup . For Halloween we have a great tutorial with lots of ideas on how to carve the pumpkin and create a creepy pumpkin face: