I watched a video of a person using a hand mixer to remove the pulp and seeds from a pumpkin and decided to try it. It was an immediate failure. The beaters couldn’t get far enough into the pumpkin to reach the seeds.
My conclusion sticks to the basics. If you want to get serious, tools of the pumpkin carving trade are available online, but a couple of common kitchen tools do the trick for me. Namely a long-handled metal spoon and a pointy-tipped serrated grapefruit knife.
The point on the knife-tip helps to direct the cut and the serrated knife edge of the grapefruit knife helps to ease it through the pumpkin shell. The narrow knife blade also helps with cutting out intricate patterns.
I have also seen serrated spoons recommended to clean out pumpkins but even non-serrated, the spoon does a good job of getting to the bottom of the loose pulp/seed mix. Remember to separate out the seeds from the pulp to roast later.
Editor’s tip: Use Vaseline on the cut edges of the pumpkin to act as a barrier, keep moisture in to preserve the pumpkin longer.
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