Carve the Perfect Pumpkin

Believe it or not, everyone can be an artist when it comes to pumpkin carving, but it is harder than it looks. Follow the following eleven tips, and your gourds will look and smell good the entire trick-or-treating season. Get carving!

🎃 Start with the right pumpkin.

Choose one that’s fresh, with a sturdy stem, no bruises, and a flat bottom so it won’t roll while you carve.

🎃 Cut from the bottom, not the top.

Cutting your “lid” from the bottom of the pumpkin helps prevent the sides from caving in later.

🎃 If you carve from the top, cut lid on an angle.

This way it won’t drop inside the pumpkin when you replace it, like it would with a straight up-and-down cut. A boning knife should work well for this.

🎃 Scoop out all the pulp (and then some).

You can buy a special “claw” for pumpkin gutting, but an ice cream scoop will do just fine. Thin the inner wall of the “face” area to 1¼-inch thick, so it will be easier to pierce the shell.

🎃 Sketch your design to size on paper first.

Tape it to the front of your pumpkin. Using a fork or pencil,
poke holes along the lines you want to carve.

🎃 Try holding the pumpkin in your lap.

It’s easier to create features when the face is gazing up at you. It
is suggested to use a serrated kitchen knife or an X-Acto knife.

🎃 Start by making simple rough cuts.

If you get the big pieces of pumpkin out of the way first, you can go back and clean up the edges of your design later.

🎃 Use your scraps creatively.

Make a tongue, pipe, or hair accessories out of discarded pieces of pumpkin shell, for example.

🎃 Keep your pumpkin fresh.

Spread petroleum jelly on the cut edges to seal in moisture. If your pumpkin still shrivels a few days later, revive it with a facedown soak in cold water for up to eight hours.

🎃 Create a chimney.

First, leave the lid on for a few minutes while the candle burns. Cut a small hole where the pumpkin has blackened up top. Or, save yourself the stress and opt for a battery-operated votive.

🎃 Sprinkle cinnamon inside.

That way, when you light the candle, your jack-o’-lantern will smell like a pumpkin pie. Yum.