Pumpkin Carving 101

Materials Needed

A pumpkin
Old newspaper
A large knife (sturdy and flexible)
A large spoon
Trash can
Votive candles or tealights
Pencil or felt tip pen

Step-By-Step Description

Pumpkins come in all different shapes in sizes: round, oblong, skinny, fat or a mixture of the whole lot. Pumpkins can be found at grocery stores, all-purpose stores, at your local pumpkin patch, or on your neighbor’s front porch. It may be helpful to start with a design in mind, so you know what type of pumpkin to look for. Finding a pumpkin takes very little time, just make sure that the pumpkin is large enough to carve and free of any mold and bruises. Pumpkins with darker colored skin are harder to carve, but generally last longer. Pumpkins with lighter skin have softer shells and are a neccessity for kids. Once you have found your perfect pumpkin, the carving can begin.

Setup

Cover your table with newspaper. Pumpkin carving can get very messy and nobody likes sticky pumpkin residue glued to their table for weeks.

It is up to you to decide the orientation of your pumpkin because pumpkins can go all different ways. The most common method of orientation is to have the pumpkin stem pointed directly upwards. If you like to be a little more creative, try using the stem as a nose or the bottom of the pumpkin as a mouth.

Carve the Lid

The first incision of your pumpkin is to allow yourself access into the middle of the pumpkin. Most people make this incision on the top of the pumpkin by carving a circle around the stem. The more irregular the shape you make, the easier it will be to fit the piece of the pumpkin back in at a later time. Make sure that the opening you are carving is large enough to allow your hands to fit into the middle of the pumpkin.

Once you have access into the inside of the pumpkin, clean out the seeds and pulp with a large spoon. If you are feeling hungry, you can pick out the pumpkin seeds and follow this recipe.

Quick Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Separate and rinse the seeds from the pumpkin pulp. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Boil the seeds in a saucepan with 4 cups of water per 1 cup of seeds. For each cup of water, add a tablespoon of salt. Allow the water to boil with seeds for 10 minutes. (Boiling the seeds in salt water allows the seeds to absorb the salt and makes them delicious.) Spread olive oil over the bottom of a cookie sheet, no more than a couple tablespoons. Spread the seeds onto the cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until the seeds have turned golden brown. Allow the seeds to cool before eating.

Carve the Face

Now it is time for the most crucial part of the pumpking carving process: carving the facial features of the pumpkin. Freestyle carving is the practice in which a person carves without assistance from tracing or a pattern. Many expert pumpkin carvers trace their design onto the pumpkin before they carve. Tracing is a perfectly acceptable practice in the world of carving, so go ahead and trace the design onto your pumpkin. If you are a beginning pumpkin carver, try to make larger shapes for the pumpkin. When using a big knife, it can be difficult to cut out tiny parts of a pumpkin.

Carving the facial features of a pumpkin can become quite tiresome. It is always good to take a break. Remember, pumpkin carving is supposed to be fun…so carve at your own pace. When you have finished carving your pumpkin, it is time to clean up the inevitable mess. Perhaps by this time, you have finished baking your pumpkin seeds and you can enjoy the salty reward of your hard work.

• If you coat the cut areas of the pumpkin with regular olive oil (not extra virgin) or with petroleum jelly, this will prevent dehydration and will double the life span of the pumpkin.

Put your Pumpkin on Display

Find a location to place your pumpkin, your front porch, the entryway or even as a center piece. Throw in a couple of tea-light candles and you are ready for Halloween.

Links and ideas

Here are some creative pumpkin ideas from Extreme Pumpkins.

The Cannibal Pumpkin

The Witch Pumpkin

The Electrocution Pumpkin

Free pumpkin carving patterns

Pumpkin Games, Art, Science, Snacks for kids

Use that extra pumpkin:

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Pumpkin Bundt Cake