Purdue News

October 11, 1996

A rule of pumpkin: If you cut it, don't eat it

Well, if you cut eyes, nose and mouth out of your pumpkin's hide, forget eating the rest of the face for tomorrow's supper -- even if you didn't put a candle in it.

"Like melons, pumpkins are low in acid, so there's the possibility of food poisoning if the pumpkin's been sitting around with even a nick in it," said Bill Evers, Purdue University Extension specialist in food and nutrition.

But if you used your pumpkin for decoration "as is" or painted it, you can consider turning it into soup or baking it with brown sugar, raisins and butter.

"I'd be careful to cut way around the painted part, but as long as the skin is intact it should be no more problem than apples picked off a tree," Evers said. Don't cook painted pieces of pumpkin or you could end up eating the paint, he emphasized.

If you don't plan to eat your pumpkin for a week or two, keep it out of the rain.

"If you put a pumpkin outside, any wounds on the surface of the fruit are prone to decay, especially if they get wet," said Purdue University Extension plant pathologist Rick Latin. "If you want to keep a pumpkin, keep it dry."

And don't leave your pumpkins out in the cold, Latin said. Pumpkins are injured by hard frosts. They keep best in well-ventilated spots at temperatures a little above 50 F. If the conditions are right, a pumpkin easily can stay in storage for a couple of months.

Here are a couple of traditional recipes:

Pumpkin Puree

(Use as you would canned pumpkin for pies, cookies or soup)

Peel, seed and cube the pumpkin. Boil or steam for 20 minutes. Discard water, then process pumpkin in a blender until smooth. A three-pound pumpkin makes about 3 cups of puree.

Pumpkin Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped green pepper 2 cups pumpkin puree

1 medium onion, chopped 2 cups milk

1 tablespoon flour 1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon thyme

Sauté pepper and onion in olive oil until soft, but not brown.

Blend in flour and salt to make a paste.

Add chicken stock, puree, milk and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Serve hot.

CONTACTS: Evers, (317) 494-8546; home (317) 497-1040; e-mail, William_Evers@acn.purdue.edu

Latin, (317) 494-4639; e-mail, latin@btny.purdue.edu

Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (317) 494-8415; home (317) 497-2433; Internet, sig@ecn.purdue.edu

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