How to Easily Cut and Peel Pumpkins
Heating the pumpkin helps soften the skin.
Photo: Loren Castillo / Pexels
Pumpkins are versatile, very nutritious and healthy. With them you can prepare various stews and drinks, desserts and sandwiches, including creams, salads, pumpkin pie, sweet pumpkin, puddings and pumpkin spice latte. There are many varieties of squash, and the largest ones can be difficult to cut. We will see how to cut and peel pumpkins more easily.
Struggling with a pumpkin while trying to cut it can be dangerous for your fingers. Cut off the ends of the stem to give the squash stability and prevent it from wobbling when you want to cut it. Lay the cut side down.
Softens the skin of the pumpkin
There’s a quick hack that can make pumpkin work a lot easier. Heating the pumpkin in the microwave helps soften the skin for easier cutting. Remember to rinse the squash under running water before peeling or cutting it.
Cut the ends of the pumpkin and poke holes in your pumpkin using a fork or knife. Heat the pumpkin in the microwave for about 5 minutes. You can also heat the pumpkin in the traditional oven at 375 ° F for 15 minutes; these times are for a medium pumpkin, larger pumpkins require more minutes. Finally let it cool down a bit to start cutting it as you normally would.
Butternut squash
To peel the butternut squash, it is easier if you first cut it in half so that you get the thin half cylinder-shaped and the half round; later peel cut each part.
Cook in the microwave
There are many ways to cook squash, whether it’s roasted, boiled, steamed, in the microwave, or by simmering.
One of the fastest ways to cook squash is in the microwave. Remove the skin and cut in half. Place the squash in a microwave-safe dish cut side down with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and program for 5 to 10 minutes on high until tender.
How to make pumpkin puree
Remove the seeds and the skin from the cooked pumpkin, crush and puree the pulp by adding one to 3 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt or spices; Depending on the dish, you can add ginger or cinnamon and even pepper, chili powder, oregano and cumin. The amount of oil increases according to the size of the pumpkin.
It may interest you:
–America’s heaviest pumpkin was disqualified for a fingernail-sized crack
–In the event of an oil fire in the kitchen, never use water to put it out
–When heating food in the microwave it is better to place it on the edge than in the middle of the turntable
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