If the pumpkin lantern is particularly well done or the Halloween face is a true masterpiece, the splendor only lasts a few days. Find out here how drying can be used to preserve the pumpkin for longer without it shriveling.
Just not in the oven
As a purely natural product, all pumpkin varieties are rich in water. This is the primary cause of mold growth within a short period of time. A variety of vegetables are placed in the oven to dry. Of course, this type of drying has fatal consequences for a finished carved pumpkin: it shrinks dramatically because the moisture is removed far too quickly.
First dry - then carve
Forward-thinking lantern carvers favor the opposite route. They dry the most beautiful pumpkin right after harvest and then decorate it. The unwanted water has disappeared, so mold doesn't stand a chance. Under these conditions, the pumpkin carving art can be admired for months. That's how it's done:
- Cut off the fully ripe pumpkin
- leave a piece of the fruit stalk on the pumpkin
- wash carefully with warm soapy water
- Rinse thoroughly with cold, clear tap water
- lay out on wood or styrofoam in an airy, cool place
- turn every 14 days to prevent pressure points
- Scrape away any rotten spots with a blunt knife
Alternatively, hang the pumpkin on a string, for example in the branches of a tree. Dangling from a high fence, the drying pumpkin serves as an autumn decoration during the season. If there are small spots of rot, they are scraped off. After 6 to 12 months the pumpkin is dried and ready for artistic processing.
Accelerated drying with a risk factor
Since the thick, firm skin is responsible for the long drying time, pumpkin connoisseurs advocate the following procedure:
- let the pumpkin ripen and dry for a few weeks
- Use a dull knife to scrape off the outer layer of the pumpkin skin
- lay out in a warm, airy place, turning every 2 days until the squash has dried
The risk with this method is that the exposed bottom layer of peel is more susceptible to infections, such as powdery mildew.
tips and tricks
In one experiment, carved pumpkins were prepped with a special pumpkin preservative, bleach, acrylic, petroleum jelly, and glue. A pumpkin was left to dry in peace. The result was quite surprising. With a total of 14 days, two pumpkins withstood the transience the longest: the candidate treated with a special spray and… the natural pumpkin.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself