Your Perfect Pumpkin for Halloween
Give your yard just the right touch with the perfect pumpkin!
In 2012, Americans bought nearly 12.4 million CTW (carat total weight). But how many of these pumpkins were considered the “perfect picks”? So let’s take a look at how you can choose your perfect pumpkins for your Halloween decorations!
Inspect It First
The first step to picking your perfect pumpkin is the find one that is firm all over. Soft spots can indicate decay on the inside of your pumpkin and could be disaster when it comes time to carve it. Another thing to avoid is blemishes. Pumpkins that have brown spots or little “pencil eraser” spots mean bugs have been burrowing and chewing on your gourd. Bug infestations are not only bad for your pumpkin but for your home. Look for frost damage. Frost damage can lessen the shelf life of a pumpkin. You can tell if your pumpkin has front damage by looking at the stem. If the color of the stem is dull, it has suffered through a frost. A good stem is also important. Look for a pumpkin with a hard, dark green or black stem. If the stem breaks if you pick up a pumpkin, it is not the right pumpkin for you. An oval or round pumpkin is easier to carve and work with. IT will give you more room to carve your design and have more seeds for roasting. If you tap on a pumpkin and it sounds hallow, that means the skin of the pumpkin is thin and perfect for carving, while a thicker pumpkin is perfect for baking.
To Carve Your Pumpkin
There are two different ways to decorate your pumpkins: carve it free handed or carve it using a stencil. Carving it free handed is great if you have artistic abilities or want to have the traditional face. If you do not poses artistic abilities, use a stencil. Stencils can be found online or in-store depending on what type of design you would like. To carve your pumpkin, put down layers of newspaper to cut down on the mess and cut a hole at an angle around the top of your stem. This hole should be big enough for you to put your hand into the pumpkin and should be able to fit back into the pumpkin after it is cleaned out. With a spoon, gently scoop out the “guts” of the pumpkin. If you want to save the seeds, place them into a dish strainer or large bowel to clean later. Once it is cleaned, draw your designed onto the pumpkin using a marker and carefully cut into it with a paring knife. Once you have completed carving your pumpkin, it is time to set it out for Halloween.
There are two different options to make your pumpkin come to life. You can use the traditional candle or battery operated alternative. Or you can use dry ice. To make your pumpkin spooky and the envy of your neighbors, take a bowl of warm water and place it into the pumpkin, gently place dry ice into the bowl and close the pumpkin. This will create a fog pouring through your pumpkin carving and give it the scariness every pumpkin needs! For more information on purchasing your dry ice for Halloween, call Dry Ice Corp today!
Dry Ice Corp: A Dry Ice Supplier in Maryland
Dry Ice Corp is the largest regional supplier of dry ice products and customized delivery services in the Northeastern United States, from Virginia all the way up to Maine. And because our dry ice is supplied by manufacturing plants located right here in the Northeast, we can guarantee freshness. Other suppliers, meanwhile, get their dry ice from manufacturing plants as much as 1,000 miles away, which has a direct impact on product freshness. Ready to get your dry ice? Click here!
Dry Ice Corp provides the highest levels of service and freshest dry ice products.
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