Every autumn, hard work awaits us on the kitchen counter: a large, heavy fruit with a thick, firm shell. Almost every pumpkin has to be peeled and some home cooks are put off by this. With a few tricks, the peel can be quickly separated from the pulp.
How to properly peel a pumpkin?
To peel a pumpkin, first wash it. Then cut off both ends and remove the peel piece by piece with a knife or peeler. For a butternut, split the pumpkin in half, peel the halves separately and remove the core.
Not all pumpkins are the same
The pumpkin family is large and produces fruits of different shapes. Not every pumpkin needs to have its hard shell removed before preparation. The popular Hokkaido, for example, has a soft, edible shell. The equally popular butternut has a somewhat unusual shape, which can be managed with a few tricks and tips when peeling.
Wash or wipe the bowl
Pumpkin fruits become heavy and usually lie on the ground due to their weight as they grow. Before peeling, the whole fruit should be rubbed under running water with a vegetable brush.
Very large, awkward fruits can alternatively be wiped with a damp cloth.
Removing the shell from the butternut
- Lay the butternut, as this pumpkin is called in German, flat on a large cutting board and cut it in half with a serrated knife. The lower, thicker part should be slightly larger.
- Now cut off both ends.
- Place the top half upright on the cutting board.
- Hold the butternut with one hand as you cut the shell from top to bottom using sawing motions. This half consists only of pulp and can be used completely for preparation after peeling.
- Place the bottom half upright on the cutting board and divide it into four parts.
- Remove the core.
- Righten each quarter and cut the peel from top to bottom as previously described.
Tip
You don't have to use a very large butternut all at once. A pumpkin half can be stored unpeeled in the refrigerator for a few days.
Peeling round pumpkins
You can proceed in different ways when peeling a round pumpkin fruit:
- remove the entire pumpkin from the shell
- Peel the pumpkin wedges one at a time
- peeling baked pumpkin
The second variant is particularly suitable if only part of the fruit is needed at a time. The rest can be stored unpeeled for a few days.
Remove the shell from the entire pumpkin
To remove the shell from a whole pumpkin, you will need a large cutting board and a large heavy knife or long serrated knife.
- Dehead the pumpkin from both sides
- Place the fruit with the cut side up on a kitchen board
- Cut off the peel piece by piece from top to bottom
- Move the knife back and forth and apply pressure
- keep it close to the fruit
Peel narrow pumpkin wedges
- Cut a straight piece from both sides of the fruit.
- Place the pumpkin on a large wooden board and cut the part you want to prepare immediately into several wedges.
- Use a spoon to remove the core.
- Peel the peel from each wedge one at a time using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife.
Peeling baked pumpkin
A peel that has been briefly heated in the oven can be easily removed from the pulp.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C.
- Meanwhile, split the pumpkin in half and remove the core.
- Heat the pumpkin halves in the oven for a few minutes until the flesh has darkened slightly.
- Wait until the pumpkin halves have cooled down and then remove the peel.
Conclusion for quick readers:
- Fruits: Are shaped differently; have a thick shell; need to be peeled
- Exception: Hokkaido peel is soft and edible; does not need to be removed
- Butternut: Cut in half in the middle; cut off ends; Peel halves separately
- Tip: Half an unpeeled pumpkin can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days
- Whole Pumpkin: Cut off both ends; Place the cut surface on a cutting board
- Whole pumpkin: Peel off the peel all around with a knife from top to bottom
- Pumpkin wedges: cut off the ends; Cut the required part of the fruit into wedges
- Pumpkin wedges: Peel the wedges one after the other using a peeler or a small, sharp knife
- Baked pumpkin: Halve and remove seeds; Bake at 180 ° C until the flesh darkens
- Baked Pumpkin: Allow to cool slightly; Peel off the shell
