It’s more than just scooping out the seeds

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves are falling, the temperature is getting colder and Halloween is around the corner. With Halloween approaching it’s time to decorate with a Halloween classic; carving pumpkins.

My first attempt at carving pumpkins was nothing short of failure. My lid fell through and I didn’t scrape all the seeds out. What can I say? I was used to my mom finishing up my pumpkin when I got too tired as a kid. Hopefully, with these tips, you’ll be able to carve a pumpkin with ease and showcase your creations glowing on Halloween night.

Tools

Depending on the intricacy of your pumpkin, a knife or exacto knife will do. Just remember the elementary school rule, always cut away from yourself meaning keeping your fingers out of the way. I think we can all do with some special blood splatter not added to the pumpkin.

Use a spoon

Yes, that’s right. Scoop your hand into the slimy orange pulp of pumpkin and fish around for hand fulls of seeds with strings of orange that accompany your handful on the way out. After that, scrape the sides of the pumpkin with a spoon to get the last bit of the seeds out and in turn, make it easier to carve.

Cut the pumpkin lid at an angle

To prevent the pumpkin lid from falling through, cut it at a 45 degrees angle, angling inwards. This leaves the lid in a resting spot and to stop it from smothering the lit candle on Halloween night.

Trace the pattern

If doing an intricate pumpkin design you can transfer the design on the pumpkin by using a ballpoint pen to trace the design using transfer paper (face down). That way you’re not at odds of free drawing while staring at an image of it on the internet because, if you don’t have artistic capabilities we all know how that can turn out. Take me for example; uneven lines, random pen marks and a lopsided drawing can all be avoided with the use of transfer paper.

Use the scraps for further decorating

The scraps you cut out for the pumpkin can be used to further decorate it. Think of creating a bow, a tongue or a cutting out numbers for the years with the scraps.

If using the seeds for roasting

A great way to separate a bulk of the seeds from the orange slimy strings of goo is to rinse it under room temperature water. Have something to catch the seeds from falling into the drain, like a strainer, and ta-da. The pumpkin seeds are separated and can be popped into the oven when dry.

Enjoy

Hopefully, all these tips will help you carve a great pumpkin. Just remember, to take advantage of the free pumpkin seeds and roast them in the oven for later snacking. Happy Spooktober everybody.