The Guide: Spice up your pumpkin
Pumpkins at the Ferrari Farm on Mill Street.
From pies to seeds to carved works of art, master these tips for the perfect holiday squash:
Buy your pumpkin
You can buy pumpkins from local grocery stores, but traditional pumpkin patches usually also offer hay and pony rides, petting zoos and corn mazes. There are several pumpkin patches in the Reno area.
Ferrari Farm, 4701 Mill St.
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Price: 50 cents and up, depending on size, average pumpkin for carving about $4
Toll House: 12185 S. Virginia St.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day
Price: 49 cents and up, depending on size, average pumpkin for carving about $3
Nevada Lynn: 435 U.S. 395 North, Washoe Valley
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day
Price: priced depending on size, average pumpkin for carving about $6
Pick your pumpkin
You should pick your pumpkin for how you plan to use it.
Carving:
The best pumpkin for carving is about eight pounds. You can pick any size or shape you want, but many opt for round pumpkins.
Decoration:
An arrangement of small pumpkins works for decoration. Small gourds are also popular, sometimes arranged with pinecones or fall leaves. White pumpkins are thicker and often last longer, which is best for this use. By properly storing your pumpkin in a cool dry area, it can last for months, through Thanksgiving or even Christmas.
Pumpkin Pie:
“You want something nice and firm, with no wrinkles on it,” said Stephanie Couch, manager at Nevada Lynn.
“You don’t want something that feels hollow, and when you knock on it, you don’t want any squishiness.”
Carve your pumpkin
- Find a pumpkin carving kit. A convenient place to find one would be at Spirit Halloween, 3800 S. Keitzke Lane. There you can buy a 17-piece carving kit for about $5.99. The kit also comes with patterns that can help you carve a spooky, funny or traditional design.
- Cut a lid in the top of your pumpkin, making sure that you angle your carving blade towards the center of the pumpkin. This will create a ledge for your lid so it doesn’t fall inside the pumpkin.
- Scoop out all the strings and seeds inside. Scrape the side of the pumpkin until the surface is smooth, so there are no innards left inside. Remains could rot your pumpkin and make it smell.
- When applying your pattern, be sure to trace it onto the pumpkin skin first so that you are not carving freehand when it is time to cut.
- If you put a candle inside, remember to cut a chimney hole in the lid of your pumpkin to let smoke and heat escape.
Bake pumpkin seeds
Kyle’s Pumpkin Seeds (by Silver & Blue Catering), Serves as many as desired
- Ingredients: pumpkin seeds, fresh from the pumpkin you just carved; two to three tablspoons olive oil, a few pinches of salt.
- Rinse seeds, making sure to remove all strings and slime.
- Lay out the seeds on paper towels in one even layer, and leave them to dry for approximately one to two hours or until completely dry.
- When dry, place seeds in a mixing bowl and toss them with the olive oil and salt.
- Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray and then bake in an oven at 350 degrees until crispy (you should watch them to make sure that they are dry but not burned). Season as desired.
Make pumpkin pie
Libby’s Pumpkin Pie (by Silver & Blue Catering), Serves 6-8
- Ingredients: one tablespoon flour, one nine inch pie crust, two eggs lightly beaten, three-fourths cup sugar, one-half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon. cinnamon, one-half teaspoon ground ginger spice, one teaspoon ground spice clove, one large can of evaporated milk and one can of pumpkin.
- Mix all the ingredients together.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
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