Halloween tips: How to pick the perfect pumpkin for carving
The Halloween celebration is just a few days away. Here are some tips on how to choose the best pumpkin for carving and decorating your jack-o’-lantern.
The Halloween celebration is fast approaching and the atmosphere has begun to turn black and orange with pumpkins outside the houses where children will go trick-or-treating.
Carving and decorating pumpkins has become a Halloween tradition, evolving from the famous jack-o’-lantern. Since October 31 is only a few days away, here are some tips for choosing the perfect pumpkin.
Halloween tips: How to pick the perfect pumpkin for carving
The choice of pumpkin will depend on its purpose. When choosing one to decorate or carve, you look for different qualities compared to when you are choosing one to cook.
Regardless of the desired size, choosing a good pumpkin for decorating or carving requires you to avoid those that have cracks or splits, as well as soft spots or sunken areas that indicate that it is not ripe enough or will soon rot.
Quality pumpkins have a firm, hard shell and are generally a deep orange color. However, color is not always the best indicator of ripeness, as pumpkins come in different shades, from bright orange to light orange, yellow, and almost white.
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How can you test the ripeness of a pumpkin?
According to the Johnson County Extension office, the ripeness of a pumpkin can be tested by gently pressing your fingernail into the peel. A ripe pumpkin will resist scratches.
If the surface is easily penetrated, the pumpkin was picked too early and will end up rotting. Pumpkins that are not ripe enough do not have a long life once they are harvested.
Also check for firm, bright green stems, as this indicates freshness. A dry stem usually means that the pumpkin has been picked and stored for a long period of time, so it will not stay fresh throughout the fall decorating season.
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Be careful when transporting the pumpkin!
Once you have chosen your pumpkin, you must be very careful when holding and carrying it. It is advisable to hold it from underneath and not from the stem, since if it breaks off, the decomposition process accelerates.
Now that you know how to choose the perfect pumpkin, all that’s left is to decorate it or carve it to your liking. Here are some ideas.