Thumpy Rose This article is all about what to do with fresh pumpkin, how to eat roasted pumpkin seeds, how to clean a pumpkin for cooking, and lastly pumpkin safety. We are on a journey to learn about Africa through plant-based foods and opportunities like this enable us to share food handling tips with you.
Fresh pumpkin health Benefits
Before we tell you how to peel pumpkin, it’s good to know what this delicious and versatile vegetable of the squash family offers us.
When wondering about what to do with fresh pumpkin, think about its impressive health benefits and a high level of nutrition. Pumpkins are rich in vitamins A, C, B2, and E. Moreover, it is good for your eyesight, heart health, immunity, liver, skin, and blood pressure. Having low calories and high fiber content, pumpkins can help you with weight loss too.
So, if you’ve been indulging yourself in pumpkin only on Thanksgiving and Halloween, you might be missing a lot. Add pumpkins to your regular diet and reap its umpteen benefits. To begin with, you can try our Savory African Pumpkin Stew. Or, follow our guide of how to eat roasted pumpkin seeds as snacks. That way, you’ll be consuming plenty of healthy fats, zinc, magnesium, protein, and iron.
Now, when it comes to how to clean a pumpkin for cooking, there is more than meets the eye. Apparently, pumpkin cleaning is fairly an easy task. However, you need a little bit of patience with the right tools and a few tactics to cut the pumpkin without a mess.
With our useful and practical directions, you can get done with pumpkin cleaning while keeping your kitchen spick and span. We have given a complete guide below for an easy and quick method about pumpkin safety.
How to clean a pumpkin for cooking
To answer what to do with fresh pumpkin, firstly, rinse the pumpkin thoroughly to remove dirt. For hygiene purposes, it is always vital to wash off the outside of every vegetable or fruit. Since the outer shell of the pumpkin is sturdy, there’s no harm in using a gentle scrubber or brush to clean its outside peel. Now, make sure your pumpkin isn’t showing any signs of rotting. Check the stem and the area around in particular. This is where the rotting begins. If you find any darker or mushier parts in the pumpkin, cut these off before cooking.
Now let’s make our way to the inside. Take a cleaver or sharp chef’s knife. Make a small incision at one side of the pumpkin and then on the opposite side. You can directly start slicing it into half but making small incisions on both sides can ease the process. Ensure to cut just beside the stem. Regarding pumpkin safety, you’ll find it the safest way to handle pumpkin. Slowly and carefully, cut the pumpkin down the middle and slice it in half. Keep your fingers at bay from the blade and don’t rush the process.
Next is making your pumpkin seed-free. Remove the seeds and pumpkin guts using a metal ice cream scoop or serrated spoon. Scrap out its soft flesh and all the stringy part to smoothen the inside. You can use your hands to scoop out all the seeds. Ensure your pumpkin is completely free of seeds. It is essential for how to clean a pumpkin for cooking.
Tip: Save the seeds for your snack time. When thinking about how to eat roasted pumpkin seeds, know that they are full of delight and nutrients. You can also use roasted pumpkin seeds in a variety of food recipes.
How to peel pumpkin safely
Now comes the peeling part. To soften the tough exterior of fresh pumpkin, the tip is to cook firstly. You can cook it in the microwave or oven till the outer surface become soft enough to peel. Let it cool. Finally, peel off using a knife or your fingers.
Or else, simply use the vegetable peeler to peel it. Does it answer your question what to do with fresh pumpkin?
Now that you know how to peel pumpkin, the best method for how to clean a pumpkin for cooking, and pumpkin safety, it’s time to prepare your favorite pumpkin dishes and treats!
Let us know how your pumpkin cleaning venture turns out in the comments. Curious about a no-animal-meat food lifestyle? peep instagram to see what I eat live😊.
Video Tutorial:
How to peel Pumpkin for cooking
We show you easiest and safest way to handle pumpkin. There are many ways to cut out and peel a fresh pumpkin for cooking. This refined way of peeling and cleaning a pumpkin will be your go-to method.
Follow the below step-by-step guide to know how to peel pumpkin.
Ingredients
- Medium size fresh pumpkin
- Two sharp chef's knives
- spoon
- chopping board
- 2 to 3 bowls
- pan for roasting pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Set the pumpkin on a chopping board.
- Take a sharp chef’s knife.
- Carry the knife from your dominant hand while holding the stem of the pumpkin with your other hand.
- Now insert the knife right into the pumpkin.
- Start cutting from just the bottom of the stem.
- Try to make an incision on the pumpkin ribs.
- Keep cutting throughout the ribs. To put it another way, slice the pumpkin from top to down the end.
- Similarly, make another cut from the same position.
- Make sure you cut in a way so that you can lift out a slice without much ado.
- Using another knife having a sharper tip, take a slice out of the pumpkin.
- Now following the same procedure, cut the whole pumpkin slice by slice.
- Once the last slice is left, cut off the stem.
- Remove any part that seems rotten/bad from your fresh pumpkin.
- Now take a serrated spoon and remove all the seeds and pumpkin guts.
- Your pumpkin is now ready to cook.
- Use your hands to remove the guts from the seeds and save the seeds aside in a bowl.
- You can compost the guts or use them later for whatever way you like.
- At 350-degree temperature, roast the pumpkin seeds for about 10 to 20 minutes.
- Enjoy the roasted pumpkin seeds as snacks or use them in other food recipes.
Notes
So, cleaning a pumpkin to cook is not that hard. What do you say?
Anyway, pumpkins do make some of the delicious and sweetest dishes. Pumpkin stews, sauces, puree, pies, muffins, and pumpkin desserts are quite popular. Thus, to know how to peel pumpkin is worth it.
Tell us your favorite pumpkin dishes in the comments below.
