How to Peel A Pumpkin

As I was tackling the task of processing my larger pumpkins I had to figure out the most efficient way of peeling it. 

Using a sharp, sturdy knife and a large cutting board I began by cutting out the stem and slicing the pumpkin in half. Be sure to use long, fluid strokes while slicing. If you hesitate the blade may get stuck, and you could have a dangerous situation on your hands!






Using a large metal serving spoon I scraped out all the guts and seeds and set them aside for later.

Once the guts were all scooped I started to cut the pumpkin into strips. Please be very careful with this step, as the pumpkin is very slippery and hard to hold onto.

I cut each strip into chunks. The chunks don't necessarily have to be very small, it just makes it a lot easier to peel.

Once my strip was chunked I sliced off the skin on one side and the guts on the other.

After your pumpkin is peeled and chunked you can do whatever you want with it. Some of mine I boiled up for the goats to eat.

I froze some of it for later, and the rest I canned, but that's another blog post!

Roasting Pumpkins

First I cut off the stems, cut them in half, then with a spoon I scraped out all the guts and seeds, and set them aside. Be sure to use a strong sturdy knife and a large cutting board. Just because they are little doesn't mean that they aren't difficult to cut. The skins are quite tough and once you make your first cut they get very slippery and hard to handle. Cut with long deliberate strokes and don't hesitate, or your blade may get stuck. That's all you need! A slippery pumpkin rolling around with a sharp blade sticking out of it! When it came to the scraping, I found a small metal spoon with a rounded end, rather than a tapered end. This made it easier to scrape the guts without digging into the flesh. If you are roasting your pumpkins to cook or bake with, I suggest doing a better job of getting the guts out than I did. Mine are for goats to eat, and they don't care if they're eating pumpkin guts or not.

I preheated my oven to 350 degrees, and lined some baking sheets with parchment paper. Next I arranged the pumpkins on the sheet pans with their cut sides down. I baked the little fellows for about 30 minutes before I began checking on them.

The easiest way to test for doneness is with a fork. If you are able to push your fork easily through the skin, they are done!

My smaller pumpkins took 30 minutes, the larger ones took about 45 minutes to cook. If you are roasting pumpkins for your own use, you can make them into pumpkin puree quite easily. Just scrape the skin from the flesh with a spoon and put the flesh into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth and you've got pumpkin puree! Just remember that it is not advisable to can pumpkin that has already been pureed. Always can pumpkin in chunks and puree when ready to use. If you need a way of preserving your pumpkin puree, put it in a reclosable container or a zip top bag and put it in your freezer. Don't forget to label and date the container so you know what you've got!

Pumpkins!

Last year one of my co-workers approached me and asked me if I would like her Halloween pumpkins for my goats. Of course I said yes! She told me that her family had painted their pumpkins that year, so they were still good and hadn't rotted like carved pumpkins would have. Painted pumpkins don't worry me, because you can scrub the paint off, and if all else fails you can peel the pumpkin and leave behind any stubborn spots of paint.

So, the first task was to give the pumpkins a bath! I put them all in my bathtub and added a drop of dish soap. Using a vegetable brush I scrubbed and scrubbed until the majority of the paint had come off. Now I just needed to decide what to do with so much pumpkin!

First I tackled the smaller pumpkins. I decided to roast them, since they were small, and save their seeds to plant in my garden.

The larger pumpkins took much more time to process. I peeled, chopped and froze one and saved the seeds to toast.

The rest of the pumpkins I decided to can.

I realize that this seems like a lot of work just to feed some pumpkins to my goats, but it makes for some very interesting learning experiences to share! Besides, during the colder months my in-the-yard friends need some extra calories to keep warm, so it will benefit them as well!









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