Pumpkin is a unique product that has more than 20 different species. Many delicious and healthy dishes are made from it. But for this, the vegetable must first be prepared. The first thing any housewife should know is how to peel a pumpkin.
Mandatory procedure
Every person almost daily uses certain vegetables dishes in his diet. True, this does not happen with pumpkins as often as, for example, with potatoes. Although it should be noted that the benefits in this product are much greater. Its use helps to improve vision and normalize digestion, extinguish inflammatory processes and strengthen immunity. Therefore, you should not leave your body without such a powerful assistant. Moreover, pumpkin dishes are not only healthy, but also very tasty. It is used to make various soups, cereals and casseroles. This vegetable makes wonderful stews and pancakes, bake cookies and pies, and also brew fragrant tea. Any of these recipes deserves attention, but they all start with the same procedure. You need to know how to peel a pumpkin.
Of course, at first it, like any product, needs to be thoroughly washed. After all, such a beauty grows in the garden and has direct contact with the ground. Therefore, the first thing to do is to flush the surface under running water. Further actions depend on the particular recipe. But in most cases, the hostesses have to decide how to peel the pumpkin.
The easiest way is to cut it lengthwise and then methodically cut a thick skin with a sharp knife. But this is not always done.
Structural features
In nature, there are several dozen varieties of this vegetable. They differ in shape, color and condition of the bark of mature fruits. Among the most famous names for these products are “butternut squash”, “red pear”, kabochka, as well as clary, “stinky” pumpkin, foliage, foliate, palmate and “ozhichobe”. Each of them has its own field of application. This difference affects the way the product is processed. A good culinary specialist should understand this and understand how to peel a pumpkin of one kind or another. Indeed, most recipes provide for the use of only the pulp of such a vegetable, therefore, each fruit must be freed from the stem, peel and pericarp after wet processing. For each grade, this procedure is strictly individual. It takes into account not only the structural features of the product, but also provides for the use of certain tools. And in an ordinary kitchen, these can be simple cutlery.
Surface treatment
Most often, a nutmeg pumpkin , familiar to everyone, is used for cooking . Its bright orange pulp during cooking or stewing gives the finished product a pleasant delicate aroma. To distinguish this part from the product, you need to know how to peel the pumpkin. This will require some skill and the availability of the necessary tools. To start work on the table should be: a cutting board and two knives (sharp large and vegetable with notches).
After this, the following steps must be performed in turn:
- Dry the washed vegetable with a napkin or towel.
- Lay it on the board and use a large knife to cut off both ends at a distance of approximately 2.5 centimeters. These parts will not be used in cooking, so they can be safely thrown away.
- With a vegetable knife, deepening slightly, draw along the surface of the pumpkin, gradually removing small pieces of the peel. At the same time, the vegetable can be placed both vertically and horizontally. It all depends on how it is more convenient for the mistress to hold him.
Further actions depend on the characteristics of a particular dish.
Seed release
Any housewife should remember that not a single pumpkin dish is cooked with seeds. They must always be removed along with the fibers. There are special rules that can teach everyone how to peel a pumpkin from the inside. The process is quite simple and does not involve the use of any complex instruments or equipment. Everything is extremely simple. True, there are two cleaning options:
1) The whole fetus. This is what happens when the pulp along with the peel participate in the cooking process and act as improvised dishes. In addition, once a year, an entire pumpkin is scrubbed for Halloween.
2) Individual parts. This option is convenient for cooking dishes in which the pulp will subsequently need to be crushed.
It’s not difficult to clean the pumpkin, for this you need:
- Wash the vegetable well so that there is no dirt left on it.
- With a sharp knife, cut off the upper part near the tail. It is better to keep the blade at an angle so that together with the “cap” partially remove a small layer of pulp.
- Then, using a simple tablespoon, gently scrape the fibers with the seeds, periodically taking them out.
The resulting blank can then be used for other purposes.