Here's how to store a pumpkin. Because when properly deposited, the fruit vegetables will keep for several months, so that you can still enjoy them after the pumpkin season.
Storing the pumpkin: the preparation
- Pumpkins from our own cultivation must be upstream, this is the only way to ensure that they are fully ripe. Immature pumpkins start to rot quickly and cannot be stored for long. So you have to use them after the harvest mature and harden for two weeks in a warm place to let. The place should be airy and dry; a greenhouse, for example, is ideal for this.
- The stem should by no means be removed from the pumpkin, however shortened to one centimeter in length. The peel must be intact and free of bruises, but you shouldn't wash it off if you want to store the pumpkin.
- The pumpkin can be stored if the stem is lignified and the shell is so hard that it cannot be scratched with a fingernail. You can also use the tapping test to determine whether the pumpkin is ripe: This is the case if it sounds hollow.
- With pumpkins from the supermarket, you can assume that they are ripe, so you can get them can store directly.
Storing pumpkin: that's how it works
For storage itself, the pumpkin should be on one dark, dry and cool place be kept. However, a constant air supply is also important here, which is why cabinets are unsuitable. The optimal room temperature is around 14 degrees Celsiuswhich is why the basement is sometimes out of the question as a storage location because it is too cool and humid there. Storage on a shelf or hung in a net is ideal.
If you want to store a cut pumpkin, you should Wrap in foil and store in the refrigerator. Note, however, that it only lasts for two to three days this way.
How long can pumpkins keep?
The shelf life of pumpkins varies depending on the variety. Summer pumpkins with a thin peel hold on only about 2 weeksHowever, winter squash like the Hokkaido can up to half a year be stored. Alternatively, you can also freeze your pumpkin or boil the pumpkin down.
We'll show you delicious pumpkin recipes, for example for pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie. You will also find out whether the pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable and we will reveal how you can store apples.