How to Carve a Pumpkin

It has been three days since we bought our pumpkin and we decided that we better carve it before Halloween is here and gone ( yes, I know...slacker is my middle name :P). I was chatting with my dad on MSN Messenger the other day and he told me that it cost around RM160 for a pumpkin in Malaysia! Now I know why this tradition of carving pumpkins for Halloween never really took off back home. This is the 3rd pumpkin I have carved (or more like watch Kevin carve) since I came to the States. It's a pretty new tradition for me since Halloween isn't really that big in Malaysia. So, this post is for all my Malaysian friends and family. Don't waste your money on RM160 pumpkins. Let me take you on a step by step tutorial on carving a pumpkin. By the end of this post, it would have felt like you have carved your own pumpkin!

Firstly, you need to get yourself a pumpkin! It doesn't really matter how large or how small it is. It usually cost between $4 to $7 for an average size one. Clean the surface of the pumpkin with water and a paper towel. We bought a pumpkin carving kit for $4. That is optional, of course. A good knife and spoon will work equally well.

The first step is to cut the lid at the top. We cut it out in a shape of a star, with one of the points longer than the rest. This is to make replacing the lid back onto the pumpkin easier. Also remember to angle the blade of the knife towards the centre of the pumpkin to create a ledge to support the lid.

Try to clean out the pumpkin seeds and stringy stuff as much as possible. Do not throw away the pumpkin seeds. You can make some really yummy roasted pumpkin seeds with that. I will post up the recipe for it later in another post. Then, using a spoon or scraper, scrape the inner pulp away from the area you plan to carve until the wall is approximately 1" thick.

You can either use the drill to poke out the pattern you would like to carve or just draw it onto the pumpkin.

Now you can start carving your pattern. Remember to push the cut out pieces with your finger and not the saw blade. It can be quite hard to saw at certain places, so it takes a little bit of patience and skill.

Lastly, make 4 chimney holes on the lid to allow heat and smoke from the candle to escape. Just put a candle in the middle of the carved pumpkin and VOILA!

So, what do you think?