Pumpkin Carving Question

Vaseline! Just get some cheap-o, no-name brand from dollar tree and slather all the parts you've cut with it. It will keep a LOT longer. The only thing I've found that's a little gross is that it does attract little flies if the weather is still a bit warm, but no one really sees that part but you.

It's worked for me the past couple of years (yes, I don't have kids yet but I carve my pumpkins every fall!)

Happy carving!

www.dardinelle.com

M.,
We keep our pumpkins outside. We carve them outside and leave them there. Also, we don't put candles inside because the heat encourages mold growth. We have had pumpkins last for weeks. We have also had them last only a few days; because they were inside.

I always look for thick heavy pumpkins because those seem to last longer and I always go to the same place. (We get them from local farms, not the grocery store.)

Again, keep them outside.

Best of luck.

I don't know of any way to prolong the life of a Halloween pumpkin short of keeping it refrigerated. Not satisfactory.

My daughter has her kids draw faces on their pumpkins with markers. No cutting involved. My grandchildren, now 5 and 8, think it's more fun that way.

I just read on Clorox's web site (http://www.rightathome.com/) that you should put petrolium jelly on the edges where you cut.

Haven't tried it, so I don't know yet, but I usually wait to carve mine. I found some cute little plastic decorations that you can just push into the pumpkin's (like pushpins) and they decorate without the carving, but then you can't use candles/lights.

I"ve heard the insides can be sanitized with white vinegar. My neighbor/friend has done this since childhood and claims it works.

I don't know of too many fruits/veggies that you can cut up and leave around without them molding, especially at room temperature. I would wait a little longer, maybe grease them up as suggested, and either refrigerate them or keep them outside if it's cold enough.