Pumpkin is a very tasty vegetable. It is used in the preparation of a number of dishes, which is very attractive for gourmets. You can find out how to dry a pumpkin, how to freeze it for cooking and dry pumpkin seeds on our website.
Also pumpkin has a huge stock nutrients and vitaminsthat allow you to feel the benefits of the use of the product on your body.
Pumpkin - in addition to eating it can also be used as decor.
Surely you have seen a lot interior itemsthat were made from ordinary pumpkins. Various containers, candlesticks and whole pumpkin vases are just a small part of where pumpkins can be applied.
Vegetable preparation
How to dry the pumpkin for decor? But in order to use this, of course, a creative vegetable for creating interior objects and interesting design solutions, it is necessary prepare properly pumpkin.
In our article we will tell you in detail about how the drying process itself takes place. How to prepare a pumpkin for drying? It is very important to properly prepare the pumpkin for the drying process, and this is not about preliminary work before the process itself.
To learn how and in what time it is necessary to remove the pumpkin from the garden, you can learn from our other article.
Very competently need to approach directly to picking the pumpkin itself - after all, it is a pledge of proper drying. Not every sort of pumpkin is acceptable for making crafts.
In special greenhouses hundreds of pumpkins are grown annually. decorative rockswhich are just suitable for the works of masters.
Examine information about varieties of decorative pumpkins and select them in appearance. As a rule, such a pumpkin has a more rounded shape and more pronounced bulges. The color of a pumpkin smooth and brown.
Also, besides the fact that a pumpkin must be a special variety, it must be completely healthy in order to adequately carry out the drying process. Such a pumpkin in the first place should uniform color, with no obvious signs rotting or mildew.
Also a pumpkin should have peduncle. Unfortunately, drying is impossible without it. From the hole where the stalk is connected to the vegetable during drying, the juice can flow out and the whole process will be done down the drain. Also you should appreciate the pumpkin by touch. It should be far from soft, rather more solid.
The vegetable should not be damage. Also, do not take a pumpkin too large for drying at home. Most likely this drying will be doomed to failure.
The next stage of pumpkin preparation is your actions, but at home. At home, you should carefully prepare the pumpkin for the drying process. For this, peel the pumpkin from visible dirt, gently rubbing it with a rag. Now put a pumpkin in the shower and rinse on several sides with slightly warm water. Do not make the pressure too strong - it can damage the vegetable skin.
After the pumpkin is washed, thoroughly blot it with a towel, removing the wet drops. Leave the pumpkin for an hour dark and dry roomand then blot again with a towel and dry for another hour. When you feel that the top surface of the vegetable absolutely dry - you can proceed to the next stage.
How to dry pumpkin for crafts? You can dry the pumpkin as a whole and in parts. Depending on what goal you pursue from drying decide on the view pumpkin. If you want to cut a vegetable - cut the pumpkin into arbitrary pieces, after removing the seeds.
Means and devices
What to dry pumpkin? Pumpkin can be dried by various means.
Depending on how you want to see in the end, the vegetable can be resorted to various technical devices.
Many old-fashioned dried pumpkin in the roombut few know this big risk.
During this time, the pumpkin may mold or begin to deteriorate. Therefore, it is better to leave the natural drying process and use new technologies.
Drying can be carried out both in the oven, in the aerogrill, electric dryer or microwave. Mass options - the main thing is a clear compliance with the rules drying and then the desired result does not take long.
At what temperature to dry the pumpkin? Pumpkin drying can be carried out at different temperatures depending on the technique used in this process. So, pumpkin drying can occur at a temperature of 80 degrees in the oven.
Pumpkin should be in the center of the oven. You need periodically turn vegetable clockwise.
AT convection oven The temperature of the impact on the pumpkin will be equal to 70 degrees. Drying in electric dryer assumes a temperature of as much as 80 degrees. Microwave holds a small percentage of the pumpkin, but it is dried at 600 watts.
How to determine readiness?
Pumpkin readiness can be determined by its appearance, as well as taste. If you want to rely on the appearance of the first vegetable must have brownish tint, both peel and pulp. Pumpkin peel should be hard, and the flesh is not sticky and not wet, but dried.
If you taste the dried pumpkin, it should a little knit mouthbut not to be raw. This is the main rule in checking the readiness of this vegetable.
Storage
About how to store a pumpkin at home and how to store it in the cellar for eating, we have already told in our articles.
How to save a decorative pumpkin? If you want to use a pumpkin not in order to eat it, but in order to decorate the room, then you need to know a few very important rules.
Firstly, do not leave the pumpkin in a damp and humid place as well as possible. eliminate contact with moisture.
Pumpkin must be kept in a place where the temperature does not exceed 30 degrees and does not fall below ten.
How to store crafts from pumpkin? It is necessary to cover them on top with some coated in order to prevent spoilage of vegetables.
For example, it may be colorless. furniture lacquer or nail polish. In any case, careful protection of the vegetable from all sorts of crackles and moisture is necessary.
How to store a decorative pumpkin? Keep the pumpkin necessary in a dark and dry place. You can not keep the dried vegetable on the street in the cold and in the warm season. Also, do not forget that such vegetables are very sensitive to temperature drops, therefore do not allow this.
Excessive moisture contributes to the formation of mildew or rotting. Also often the problem of spoiling the pumpkin rodents or insects. Be more attentive to this phenomenon.
Instruction
Dried pumpkin: how to use? If you want to dry the pumpkin, which will be used as crafts, you need to carefully approach to the study of this issue. How to dry pumpkin for crafts?
First, process the vegetable just as we wrote in the first paragraph. Then try to rinse the pumpkin under warm water, eliminating surface changes. It is not necessary to injure a pumpkin or to cut something from it.
Wet the pumpkin with a towel, leave it in well ventilated place for a day. Weight these actions are the beginning for the drying process itself.
In the oven itself, the pumpkin should be loaded at the moment when the cupboard is still warming up. Pumpkin tray should be dry. Remember that the pieces must be constantly stirring. If we are talking about a whole pumpkin, then turn it over.
Whole
How to dry a decorative pumpkin entirely for crafts?
The whole pumpkin can only two ways - using various devices for this or in the usual manner of waiting.
Let's talk about the first method. Pumpkin dried in the oven for a long time, but dry the pumpkin entirely - very difficult task.
In order for the fruit to dry well and reach the standard - choose not too large instances. Also do not forget that such a pumpkin should be prepared in advance.
Now we are engaged in the oven. Heat the oven to a temperature of about sixty degrees. Place special baking paper on the baking sheet and place the pumpkin. Periodically scroll the pumpkin, giving it to dry each side. Drying can occur two to eight hours depending on the size of the vegetable.
If your oven does not provide for a large fruit to fit into it, you can do otherwise. Preparing a pumpkin leave it in dry and dark place. Periodically check the pumpkin to notice signs in time. rotting.
This is usually due to high humidity or insects. As a rule, at home without heat exposure the pumpkin dries. about three months.
For halloween
How to save a halloween pumpkin? If you are preparing a pumpkin for Halloween, then you should remember that the pumpkin should start to dry on several months before the holiday.
How to dry a halloween pumpkin? Halloween pumpkins should not be dried too much. Inside the pulp should stay a little wet. Therefore, it is recommended to harvest vegetables not three, but two or six months.
Bottle
How to dry bottle gourd? Bottle gourd is much smaller than usual and decorative, and therefore dries many times faster. To dry a pumpkin, you need to place it in the oven for a couple of hours at a temperature 40 degrees or leave on a couple of months in a dry dark room.
Quick ways
How to quickly dry pumpkin for crafts? If you want to quickly dry the pumpkin - refer to the usual home hairdryer.
If your vegetable is small, you have enough pair of watchesto dry her crust with warm air.
Remember that you need to mess with this pumpkin neater. From a sharp overheating, the crust may well crack.
Drying a pumpkin is not such a difficult task, so do not be afraid to do it. at home. Are you sure that the methods we have listed will be useful to you in the future to create incredible crafts and things.
