Jack-o-Lanterns

With so many pumpkins how do you know which one to choose for your jack-o-lantern? A good and tasty pumpkin is heavy, has a stem of at least two inches (a shorter stem means it will decay faster) and no soft spots or bruising.

Do you want to make an ornate or unique jack-o-lantern this year? Various vegetables such as squashes, turnips and mangelwurzel were commonly used as lanterns before the creation of the jack-o-lantern. Watermelons, honeydew melons and even apples make good jack-o-lanterns. Brainstorm and reinvent the jack-o-lantern, but remember certain kinds of squashes can be much harder than others.

1 short, sharp knife
1 long handled spoon
1 teaspoon
1 candle (a votive or tea-light works best)
Plenty of newspaper to protect your work surface
Large bowl for pumpkin seeds and pulp

Step #1 Cut around the pumpkin's stem.

Step #2 Use the long-handled spoon to scoop
out the pumpkin seeds and pulp.

Step #3 Now sketch what you want on your pumpkin with a ballpoint pen (so any mistakes can be scrubbed off).

Step #4 Cut out the jack-o-lantern's features carefully, making small cuts in a puncturing motion.

Step #5 On the inside of your jack-o-lantern's carving, gently scrape away flesh (the hard, white area inside) until it is about 1cm thick.

Step #6 With your knife, mark a circle about the size of the candle at the center and base inside the pumpkin.

Step #7 Gently hollow out this marked area with your teaspoon.

Step #8 Place the candle in the hollow area, light and replace the jack-o-lantern's lid.

The best colors for jack-o-lanterns are green, red, blue or purple. An effective method is with food coloring, which gives the jack-o-lantern a brilliant glow of color.

Step #1 Have your food coloring and a large, wet rag.

Step #2 Remove the jack-o-lantern's lid.

Step #3 Tilt the jack-o-lantern and liberally apply food coloring along the cut edges of the lid.

Step #4 Allow the coloring to run down the inside of the jack-o-lantern as you turn it side to side to spread the coloring. Coat all sides, besides the face which is done last.

Step #5 Take a rag that is definitely large enough to hold over and cover the face of the jack-o-lantern, tilt and apply the coloring over the inside of the face. Quickly wipe off any coloring that gets on the outside.

Step #6 Now apply the food coloring to the carved edges of the jack-o-lantern's face and again make sure to wipe off any that may be on the outside and allow it to dry.

Another solution is to pin colored tissue paper to the inside of the jack-o-lantern's face.

An easy way to preserve jack-o-lanterns is to apply petroleum jelly on all carved edges, and the inside if you want to be more thorough, then for even longer lasting preservation keeping it in the refrigerator if it isn't on display. Wrapping jack-o-lanterns in clear plastic wrap also delays the decaying process. Another method of jack-o-lantern preservation is to put the jack-o-lantern in a bucket of water with just a hint of bleach, but I feel this is somewhat of a hassle.