Step-by-step instructions on how to peel a pumpkin: algorithm of actions and life hacks for softening hard peel

Pumpkin - a nutritious vegetable containing fiber, pectin, vitamins and minerals necessary for the body. It makes delicious and varied dishes. Before they are cooked, the pumpkin is peeled, sometimes hard and dense. Small tricks that we will discuss in this article will help make cleaning easier and save time.

Procedure for cleaning a pumpkin

The amount of time it takes to peel a vegetable depends on the size, shape of the fruit and the thickness of the peel. For beginners, this procedure often seems too labor-intensive, requiring certain skills and physical effort.

But housewives with experience cope with this easily and quickly. Before using pumpkin for culinary purposes, perform the following steps:

1. Surface treatment. The vegetable is cleaned of soil and leaves. Rinse thoroughly under running water. It is not advisable to soak, as the characteristic taste is lost, and in some species the peel becomes very soft and the pulp is damaged when peeled. A kitchen sink or basin is suitable for washing small pumpkins. Sometimes the fruits grow so large that you have to use a bath and shower. After cleaning from dirt and dust, the vegetable is dried with paper or cloth napkins.
2. Peeling. Depending on the future dish, the skin is removed or left. If the vegetable is intended to be baked in slices in the oven, will become a component of juice, or will be grated, then the peel is not removed.To clean, take a wide, long knife, cut off the top and bottom 2 cm wide. This will give the fruit stability during further processing if it is positioned vertically. Using a knife-saw, carefully so as not to injure yourself, remove the skin in small pieces with planing movements. Instead of a knife, use a regular vegetable peeler. If the pumpkin is large in size or has an awkward shape, it is cut in half and processed in a horizontal position.
3. Release from seeds. Using a tablespoon, preferably a wooden one, remove the seeds with fibrous pulp from the halves and set them aside. Manual cleaning is more effective. If you need a whole pumpkin, cut off the top and carefully remove the contents with a spoon on a long handle. The seeds are selected from the pulp, washed and dried, spread on a flat surface in a thin layer.
4. Cleaning out the pulp. The pear-shaped pumpkin has a small seed chamber, located in the lower part. In order to better process and cut the fruit, it is cut crosswise. In the case of a flattened segmented pumpkin divided into half-moons, the fibers with seeds are removed from each piece separately. The knife is taken with a short or long blade to cut off the remaining fibers in one motion. The pulp is removed from the peel using the same method.

Fibers with sunflower seeds Do not leave it in the cut pumpkin, otherwise it will begin to rot after 2-3 days.

How to Peel a Thin-Skinned Pumpkin

Before starting work, carefully examine the surface of the pumpkin and determine its freshness by pressing on the peel. If there is no dent left, the vegetable is fresh and easy to peel.

First, prepare a cutting tool and a separate container for the pulp, peel and seeds. If there are small points of rotting on the skin, they are cut out, otherwise pathogenic microorganisms will end up on the pulp.

Well washed and dried pumpkin placed on a wooden board, cut off the top and bottom with a large knife, cut the vegetable in half (lengthwise or crosswise depending on varieties). The core is removed with a spoon. Place the half vertically on the board if the fruit is pear-shaped and begin peeling.

The peel of fresh pumpkin can be easily removed with either a knife or a vegetable peeler. Holding the fruit with your free hand, the peel is cut from top to bottom. The already peeled vegetable is divided into pieces of the desired size.

How to peel hard skin

If you take a pumpkin that was stored for a long time, you will have to work hard on it: the peel of the vegetable becomes denser and tougher over time.

In this case, before cutting the skin, for convenience, the fruit is cut not into halves, but into quarters or even separate segments, focusing on which pieces are more convenient to work with. Take a sharp knife and carefully cut off the coarsened shell into small pieces.

Small tricks

The skin of hard-barked or long-stored pumpkins often resembles tree bark, making peeling difficult. At the same time, hard-barked vegetables with aromatic pulp and tasty sunflower seeds easy to process after heat exposure.

How to Peel Using the Oven

The hard, woody skin is softened by a short heat treatment. To do this, a clean and dry vegetable (weighing no more than 1-2 kg) is placed in the oven on a baking sheet covered with foil and left for 10 minutes. Before laying, be sure to make shallow cuts in the peel.

Larger fruits are heated for 15–20 minutes to better soften the skin.If the pumpkin is so large that it does not fit in the oven, cut it into two parts and heat them separately. The temperature for vegetables of any size is 200°C.

Important! The main thing is not to overcook the pumpkin in the oven, otherwise it will get baked.

After heat treatment, the shell is easily removed in a thin layer without pulp. This method is not only easy, but also economical.

Using a microwave

To soften the hard skin, place the pumpkin in the microwave. If the fruit is too large, cut it in half and remove the seeds.

First, the vegetable is pierced several times with a narrow knife, placed in a microwave oven at maximum temperature, and left for two minutes. Then take out and cut off the softened skin.

Reference. For fruits with a thin shell and juicy varieties, one minute is enough for the skin to become pliable.

The only drawback of this method is that it is difficult to hold the hot vegetable with your hands. In this case, the fruit is pierced with a fork and held during processing.

Further use

After heat treatment, the pieces remaining after cooking the dish are stored well in the refrigerator, but no more than a week:

1. The vegetable is cut into cubes, placed in portions in plastic bags, and placed in the freezer. When frozen, the shelf life increases to a year. The taste of such pumpkin is practically no different from fresh one.
2. To make cooking easier, the leftovers are pureed and stored in the freezer. As needed, the product is taken out and added to porridges, soups and other dishes.
3. If you plan to use the vegetable as a basis for fresh juice, squeeze a small amount of lemon juice onto the pulp. Moreover, the beneficial properties of such a product last only 2-3 days at a temperature of 0…+4°C.

Pumpkin dessert will be tastier if you add a little honey instead of sugar. The pleasant aroma and taste will go well with the soft and juicy pulp.

Storage rules

Pumpkins of almost all varieties are stored until spring in the basement at a temperature of +12...+15°C. They are placed on racks and a bed of straw.

In a city apartment there are 2 storage options: on a glazed balcony or loggia and simply on the floor. In the first case, the pumpkin is suitable for consumption for 5-6 months at a temperature not lower than +2°C and air humidity not higher than 75–80%. In this case, the following conditions are met:

• the fruits are covered with breathable, opaque material to prevent sunlight from entering;
• pumpkins are not placed on a cement floor, linoleum, plastic (boards, plywood, thick fabric are more suitable);
• with the onset of severe frosts, vegetables are wrapped in a blanket or other insulation.

When stored on the floor, vegetables are isolated from each other and protected from sunlight. This way they will not lose their quality until almost summer, if the skin has not been damaged.

Important! If the humidity is high, the pumpkin will quickly begin to rot.

Keep the peeled pumpkin in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks, after greasing the cuts with sunflower oil and wrapping the vegetable in cling film. The product can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months.

How to Clean a Pumpkin for Halloween Crafts

The pumpkin for the lantern is chosen without flaws, fresh. The peel of such a fruit has not yet had time to harden, which means that the patterns will be easier to cut out. Shape and size don't matter.

Manufacturing technique:

1. A circle or square is drawn around the cutting for the future hole.
2. Using a sharp long knife, cut out the intended “cap” at a slight angle so that it does not fall through when closing.
3. Using a spoon with a long handle or your hand, carefully clean the fruit from seeds and fibers. The part on which the face will be depicted is worked out more carefully from the inside. Remove the pulp in this area until the wall thickness reaches 2 cm.
4. Using a marker, they draw holes for the eyes, nose and mouth, frozen in an ominous smile. It is better to make the features larger so that they are more expressive and easier to cut out.
5. Using a knife with a short and thin blade, carefully, so as not to spoil the future lantern, draw along the contour of the design, gradually delving into the pulp. The cut out parts are pushed inside the pumpkin or pulled out.
6. The inner surface is treated with varnish. Even the one used for hair styling will do. This will prevent the fruit from rotting.
7. A candle is fixed in the cavity, lit at nightfall, and the hole is covered with a cut out “cap.”

The result will be a Jack-lantern, which will become the main attribute of All Saints' Day.

Conclusion

Peeling a pumpkin is a simple process, but sometimes it can be quite labor-intensive and require considerable physical effort. The fruits come in different shapes and sizes with thin, soft skin and hard like tree bark. But after heat treatment in the oven or microwave, the skin is easily removed.

Use our tips and you will succeed!