Autumn is again pumpkin time! We show how you can easily hollow out a pumpkin, for example to serve a delicious pumpkin soup or to make a decoration for Halloween.
Step 1: choose the right pumpkin
The choice of pumpkin depends on what you want to use it for later. For example, if you want to carve a pumpkin for Halloween, you can use a large carved pumpkin. In case you got the hollowed out pumpkins for serving soup want to use, 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. Also, the fruits should show no cracks or pressure marks. 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 bit at the bottom so that a straight surface arises. You can choose between two variants for the lid: If you want to serve pumpkin soup in it, cut the lid with a sharp knife relatively flat. This ensures that as much content as possible fits into the pumpkin.
With a Halloween pumpkin it looks especially nice 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 one at that thick edge of about two centimetersto 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're hollowing out a gourd, you should be sure to keep the inside. You can bake a delicious pumpkin pie or pumpkin pie from the pulp, for example, or make pumpkin compote, pumpkin puree and pumpkin jam. 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 great instructions with lots of ideas on how to carve the pumpkin and a creepy pumpkin face can create:
Video tip: We'll show you how you can easily peel a pumpkin