Halloween pumpkin carving 2023 made easy
Carving pumpkin - the right way to do it
Halloween pumpkin carving: Instructions, tips, motifs and templates
On Halloween, of course, one thing can not be missing: the classic hollowed pumpkin head!
If you have a garden, a staircase to the house or even a window facing the street, you should not do without the luminous Jack O'Lantern
And from the removed pulp can even cook a delicious pumpkin soup or bake a tasty cake.
Preparations
Difficulty: medium, takes time
Material:
- a pumpkin
- a large and a small sharp knife
- a spoon
- alternatively a pumpkin carving set
- a pencil to draw the face
- a bowl for the inside of the pumpkin
- if necessary a pumpkin carving template
Normal kitchen knives are perfectly adequate for carving pumpkins. However, they should be sharp. For an optimal result you can also use a pumpkin carving set.
What pumpkins can I use for a Jack O' Lantern?
Basically, any that can be hollowed out and carved. Many ornamental pumpkins are just too small, too thin, or too long and too uneven of a surface to be able to decorate with faces. Unless you're an art carver and make little nativity scenes in walnut shells or write names on grains of rice during Advent. In this respect, first of all: the bigger, the better!
Accordingly, the large edible pumpkins that are offered in every supermarket in the fall are best suited. They are nice and big and easy to hollow out and they are also delicious:
You can make a great soup out of their "innards".
By and large, almost all pumpkin varieties offered are edible. However, many of the so called ornamental pumpkins are not suitable for consumption because they contain the bitter substance cucurbitacin.
Recommended are:
Giant pumpkin, Hokkaido pumpkin and of course the so called Halloween pumpkin (Jack O'Latern). But then how about a darker musk pumpkin?
Cut a sufficiently large lid from the pumpkin. Traditionally common is the simple zigzag pattern.
The pattern is created by repeatedly stabbing the pumpkin with the knife blade until you are once around.
Remove all the gore from the pumpkin - this is best done by hand. If the slimy stuff is too gross for you, just use a big spoon.
Now it's time for creativity! Paint a face on your pumpkin. First of all, take a good look at the head from all sides to find the best place for a face. Then, when the muse kisses you and you know exactly what you want Mr. Jack O'Lantern to look like, you're ready to go. Remember, however, that only sufficiently large holes are still visible from a distance and are also easier to carve.
Of course, you can also use a template. Fix this with tape on the appropriate place and trace the motif through. This is best done with a perforation wheel, such as the pumpkin carving kit enclosed.
Now carefully cut out the holes with a sharp small knife. To do this, it is best to cut very steeply into the shell, so as not to slip away on the hard shell. The cut pieces you can still leave in the pumpkin for stability reasons.
It has proven to use a small hand saw when cutting out, especially if the pumpkin wall is quite thick.
A little patience is required for many details.
For some details, remove only a little of the hard shell and flesh. This will give you color gradations, just like the professional carvers!
At the end, press all the cut elements out of the pumpkin.
The Halloween pumpkin is ready!
There are countless ways to create the Jack O'Lantern. To get you started, here are a few templates for you to download.
The story of Jack O'Lantern
Preserve a Carved Pumpkin
