How to make a jack-o'-lantern
Eating the leftovers
How to choose a tasty pumpkin
How to preserve your pumpkin
The challenge: can you do better?
About Lindsay Jordan You need:
1 short, sharp knife
1 dessert spoon
1 teaspoon
1 candle or tea-light
Plenty of newspaper to protect work surface
Large bowl for pumpkin seeds and flesh |  | | | | Step One:
Cut a circular hole around the stalk. |  | | | | Tilt the point of the knife into the centre of the pumpkin.
This will stop the lid from falling in. |  | | | | | Step Two: Scoop out the seeds and any loose flesh using the dessertspoon and the knife if needed. |  | | | | | Step Three: Sketch the face onto your pumpkin. Use a biro so any mistakes can be scrubbed off with a scouring pad or fingernail. |  | | | | | Step Four: Carefully cut out the features. Take small cuts and use a puncturing motion rather than a slicing one. |  | | | | | Step Five: Gently scrape away the flesh on the inside of the face until it is only 1cm thick. |  | | | | | Step Six: Using the knife, mark a circle the size of your candle or tea-light in the centre of the base. |  | | | | | Step Seven: Carefully hollow out the marked area with the teaspoon. |  | | | | | Step Eight: Place your candle in the hollow, light it and replace the lid of your jack-o'-lantern. |  |
Eating the leftovers: The spare pumpkin flesh and seeds can be saved and cooked. The seeds can be roasted as a snack. The best varieties for eating are 'sweet pumpkin' and 'pie pumpkin'. They are smaller than the usual jack-o'-lantern pumpkins sold in the UK in October - but they are much tastier!
How to choose a tasty pumpkin: It should be heavy and have at least two inches of stem. (Less stem means it will decay faster.) Look for a pumpkin with no blemishes or soft spots. For recipes, check out our links on the left-hand side. Preserving your pumpkin: A shrivelled manky pumpkin isn't going to impress anyone. One tip I've heard is to put petroleum jelly around the carved edges - but that seems a bit too keen. As is putting it in a bucket of cold water with a hint of bleach. If you need to preserve your creation, put it in the fridge. Maybe wrapped in clear food wrap, if you can be bothered. The challenge: Can you do better? Email us a photo of you with your Halloween pumpkin (please include your name and address). We'll put your photo in the gallery for the world to marvel at your creative genius! View the Pumpkin Gallery » Feature and photographs by Lindsay Jordan Comments Sorry I haven’t got a photo to send in just an idea to add re pumpkin carving – what we do is to run some food colouring into the pumpkin after we’ve carved the flesh out – nothing like a vivid green glow combined with orange to make it stand out and to make it a little more gruesome! Kevin W.
*****  | Lindsay Jordan |
About Lindsay Jordan: Lindsay has lived in Ulverston for four years and has been carving pumpkins since she was old enough to use a knife without being a danger to society. Lindsay is a trained secondary school science teacher and a published author of several educational books. She is heading for the sort of status in Ulverston currently only enjoyed by Mr Ralph Spours. Got an idea for a feature? Email us or write in (Annetwell Street, Carlisle, CA3 8BB) and you could see your feature on BBC Cumbria. See more articles written by you in My Space. | 
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