History of Jack-o-Lanterns

The origins of pumpkin carving again date back to the Celtic holiday of Samhain and its eve. On this magical night, glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set outside and in windows to welcome deceased loved ones, but also to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles.

When European settlers, particularly the Irish, arrived in America they found the native pumpkin to be larger, easier to carve and seemed the perfect choice for jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins are indigenous to the western hemisphere and were completely unknown in Europe before the time of Columbus. In 1584, the French explorer Jacques Cartier reported from the St. Lawrence region that he had found "gros melons", which was translated into English as "ponpions," or pumpkins. In fact, pumpkins have been grown in America for over 5,000 years. Native Americans called pumpkins "isquotersquash."

Choosing the Right Pumpkin for Carving

You'll need to pick pumpkins according to what you want to carve on them. Depending on the variety, pumpkins can range in size anywhere from tiny to humongous. Medium sized ones work best for most stencils that you'll make or buy. Very large pumpkins can be carved with elaborate designs and used as "center pieces" on your porch or tables. Small pumpkins work fine for carving traditional faces, they can be done fast and you can have many of them scattered about for parties, haunts or up your sidewalk as a lighted pathway.

For standard carving without a stencil, decide if it should be tall and narrow, or more rounded, based on your ideas. Select pumpkins that are uniformly orange meaning that are ripe, have no bruises, cuts or nicks. If you will be using a stencil to carve your pumpkin, select a pumpkin that is large enough and as close to the same shape as the pattern you're going to carve. It should be as smooth as possible, and free of scratches, dents or gouges.

Never carry a pumpkin by its stem; it may break. If it does break-off you can use toothpicks as a basic patch. Care should be taken not to bruise during transport or storage, as this will shorten their life-span.

If you find a perfect pumpkin but it's missing it's stem, have no fear! You can still use it! Just carve the bottom out for the opening the same way you would do the top. Then, you just sit your light source on the cleaned bottom piece and sit the pumpkin over it. Works great and you don't need the stem for a lid handle!

Don't Waste! Use the Seeds too!

Pumpkin seeds are also known as pepitas. They can can be salted or spiced to suit your palate. The shells are edible and are a good source of fiber. Use this method with other seeds such as acorn squash and butternut squash.

Oven-Toasted Pumpkin Seeds for Snacking

Ingredients:

* Pumpkin seeds
* Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter
* Optional: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, or other seasoning of choice

Preparation:

Scoop seeds and pulp out of the pumpkin. Rinse pumpkin seeds. Use your fingers to remove all the pulp. Drain seeds and discard pulp. Spread out on paper towels on a cookie sheet to dry overnight.

The following day, preheat oven to 250 F.

Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.

Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with preferred seasonings. Toss to coat.

Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool seeds before eating. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 1 year.

**Tip-If you like your toasted pumpkin seeds extra-salty, soak overnight in a solution of 1/4 cup salt to 2 cups of water. Dry an additional day, then proceed as above.