Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?

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Using the small plastic poker from the kit, press through the design inside the gray side of each shape. You’ll never need to look up a holiday turkey recipe ever again. Start by removing the top of your pumpkin, cutting around the stem. Simple shapes such as triangles may be easier to work with if you are new to carving a pumpkin. Pinch off and remove any fibers that remain to leave just seeds.

Get a taste of Italy via these seasoned pumpkin seeds which are coated in fennel seed, dried oregano, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Looking for a few delicious roasted pumpkin seed recipes? Roast the pumpkin seeds in the oven for up to 45 minutes. Samhain was celebrated on Nov. 1 in ancient Britain and Ireland, marking the end of summer and the beginning of the new year.

So when you’re ready to turn your pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern, begin by either cutting a hole in the bottom, as Taryn recommends, or on the back side of your creation, as Evan suggests. And either way, save that piece so you can put it back in place like a stopper when you’re done. The Messermeister 3-Piece Pumpkin Carving Set we recommend comes with a sawtooth carver that’s perfect for this step.

Use spray paint and glitter to add new dimensions to designs. Scoop out seeds and strings with a large spoon or an ice-cream paddle. Ice-cream paddles have strong handles and work well for scooping out pumpkin guts. But the name jackhas been a general term for a boy since the 1500s and for this reason, it found its way into many childhood songs and rhymes. For this reason, the British can also claim ownership to one of the original uses of the phrase jack-o’-lantern.

Evan and Soria have found that putting jack-o’-lanterns right outside your door can dissuade larger animals from stopping by for a bite. We do not recommend brining pumpkins, spraying them with bleach or, um, coating them in WD-40, as some questionable advisors on the internet might suggest. Any of these options can be harmful to wildlife—not to mention that they are a lot of work for what might still be little or no payoff.

You'll be doing yourself a major disservice if you don't pick out the seeds and roast them later. Keep scraping until all of the stringy bits are gone. Scrape out the soft sides of the pumpkin also, since this will help the Jack O'Lantern stay fresh longer.

Carving jack-o-lanterns is a popular Halloween tradition. Some like to carve scary faces, others carve silly faces and the more artistic among us carve incredible depictions of movie scenes or characters from popular Halloween and horror movies. Close-up of a jack-o'-lantern carved for Halloween night. If you find these issues as you carve, you may want to try carving another pumpkin. You can also paint your pumpkins instead of carving them, which averts the need to peer inside. Instead of candles—which make the inside of TooMuchFun the pumpkin hot—use a battery-operated tea light that flickers or a glow stick.

You can use a serrated knife from your kitchen or the largest serrated tool in a pumpkin carving kit. Draw a circle with about a 2 in (5.1 cm) radius from the stem with a washable marker. Tilt the blade at a 45-degree angle toward the stem and push it into the pumpkin.

And shoppers start buying fresh decorative winter produce, such as pumpkins andturban squash, in the hot, sultry days of late summer. Fruit flies will also flock to carved pumpkins and speed up the rotting process. The first step in selecting the perfect gourd is to choose a carving pumpkin rather than a pie pumpkin. Carving pumpkins are larger with thinner skin and have less "guts" on the inside.