Tasty and healthy dried pumpkin slices - a recipe for cooking with step-by-step photos in an electric dryer for the winter. How to properly dry a pumpkin at home: proven methods

Pumpkin is a tasty and healthy vegetable. It is used not only for food, but also as an interesting decoration. Drying is one of the best ways to store pumpkins. Let's take a closer look at how to properly dry a pumpkin at home, so that in the future it can be used to create jewelry and make treats.

Preparation

It should be noted right away that the preparation of pumpkins for crafts and for food has significant differences. In the first case, it is necessary to create as rigid a frame as possible, which will last more than one year. And in the second - to preserve the beneficial properties and vitamins contained in the vegetable as much as possible. However, for both tasks, there is a general rule that it is advisable to adhere to: try to choose only healthy fruits with an even skin color and no signs of spoilage and decay.

For decor

Now let's look at how to prepare and what to look for when choosing vegetables for decorative purposes. For crafts, experienced needlewomen recommend using two types of pumpkin: “cucurbita” and “lagenaria”. They come in vibrant yellows, oranges and reds and are great for making lanterns, pots, vases and bottles.

To dry a decorative pumpkin qualitatively, select specimens that have a stalk. Without it, drying will not work properly, since moisture must evaporate from the fruit naturally. And the stalk and pores on the surface of the vegetable are best suited for these purposes.

Algorithm

1. Wash selected pumpkins thoroughly with soapy water before drying.
2. Dry with paper towels and put away for several hours in a dark, dry place.
3. After the future decor has dried well, wipe it with alcohol.
4. Put the creative material away again in a dark place.
5. After 1-2 weeks, making sure that the shell has hardened sufficiently, you can proceed to a thorough drying.

For food

To properly dry pumpkins for food:

1. Wash the fruits well, peel them. Then cut in half and remove the seeds.
2. Cut the pulp into voluminous pieces at least 3-5 cm wide: during drying, the pumpkin decreases very much in size.
3. Spread the prepared blanks in one layer at the bottom of a shallow container. Sprinkle them with sugar at the rate of 200 g per 1 kg of vegetables.
4. Remove the treat to a dark, cool place and set a press on it for 15–17 hours.
5. After the specified time, drain the resulting juice and leave the vegetables for another 10-12 hours.
6. Transfer the fruits along with the juice to the pan, add a little more sugar and boil for 15 minutes. Then throw the candied blanks into a colander.

Now the pumpkin is ready for further drying. It remains to choose the most suitable method.

Methods for drying food grades

You can dry the future dessert in the oven, electric dryer, microwave and naturally.

In the sun

1. Arrange the cut pieces on a wire rack lined with parchment paper and put it in a well-ventilated place.
2. After 2 days, mix the blanks and leave to dry for another 2-3 days. Make sure that during this period the sun's rays do not fall on them.
3. After the fruits have dried, expose them to the sun.
4. After 1–1.5 weeks, transfer the finished dessert to glass jars and put it in the refrigerator.

In the oven

1. Arrange the pumpkin slices on a baking sheet in a single layer.
2. Dry in the oven at a temperature of +80 ° C for about half an hour.
3. Reduce the temperature to +70 ° C and sweat the workpieces for another 40-50 minutes.
4. Remove the dried pieces from the oven and cool.
5. Repeat the drying process 2 more times.

In an electric dryer

1. Pre-dry the pumpkin for 50-60 minutes at maximum temperature.
2. Reduce it to +65 ° C and bring the product to readiness.

in the microwave

When drying pumpkins in the microwave, be especially careful and careful, as the risk of spoiling the product is very high. Do not set the oven power to more than 600W. To prevent the vegetables from burning, periodically take them out and turn them over.

Features of drying decorative species

Drying methods for decorative species depend on how long you need the craft. If you need to get creative for a school competition, use the quick pumpkin drying method.

1. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and remove the pulp completely.
2. Using a sponge, disinfect the outer and inner surface of the product with alcohol.
3. Stuff the fruit with old newspapers and place in a dry, warm place, preferably in the sun.
4. Change the paper filling as the newspapers get wet, but at least 2-3 times a day.
5. After 3 days, you can use the pumpkin head to make crafts. However, keep in mind that the creative object will last no more than 2-3 weeks, then it will begin to deteriorate.

Another way to quickly dry a pumpkin is to use a hair dryer. Thanks to this device, you can dry the peel of a small fruit in just a couple of hours. However, keep in mind that you need to work with such a vegetable very carefully, since its peel becomes very fragile due to sudden changes in temperature.

To make better crafts, you should not dry the pumpkin for less than 6 months. During this time, the fruits acquire the hardness of a tree and can retain their appearance and shape for a long time. Place the vegetables in a dark, well-ventilated place for good drying.

Regularly check drying blanks and do not regret rejecting specimens that have begun to deteriorate, wrinkle or soften. If mold is found on future crafts, try removing them with bleach. You can determine the readiness of the fruit for further work by the rustling sound of the seeds when shaking and a noticeably reduced weight.

To ensure that the drying process proceeds without complications, use the tips below.

• Do not use large specimens intended for food or feed for decoration. Due to the large amount of pulp, they will not be able to dry well.
• Remember: the pulp of the fruit "cucurbita" dries 2 times faster than the pulp of "lagenaria".
• The lower the room temperature, the longer it will take to dry.
• If the peel of decorative fruits has begun to peel off, sand it with sandpaper, like an ordinary tree.
• When drying pumpkins for Halloween, keep the flesh slightly damp. Therefore, start harvesting vegetables 1.5 months before the holiday.
• When storing blanks, do not expose them to sudden changes in temperature and minimize contact with water.

In practice, you can see that drying pumpkins at home is not difficult, but it requires remarkable patience. By following our recommendations, you will be able to prepare high-quality blanks for creating beautiful crafts and cooking delicious dishes.

Everyone loves sweets, but you can't eat too many of them. After all, it can harm health, especially children. Candied fruits will come to the rescue, also sweet, but much more useful. There are several options for making vitamin sweets. Even a novice cook can make candied pumpkins according to a simple recipe in the oven. The most common products will be needed, and the volume of the oven allows you to lay a large batch at once.

Candied pumpkin: a simple recipe in the oven

To make homemade sweets from fruits, it is not necessary to have special tools; a regular oven can handle it. We take the following ingredients:

• Water - 0.3 kg;
• Pumpkin - 1 kg;
• Sugar - 1 kg 200 g;
• Vanillin - 0.05 g;
• Citric acid - 3 g.

pumpkin preparation

Prepare the pumpkin - wash the fruit, peel it. Cut it off preferably in a thin layer. Then you need to remove the core with seeds by cutting the pumpkin in half. Now cut the pulp into medium-sized cubes. Boil water in a saucepan and blanch the pumpkin for 10 minutes. Blanched cubes should be immediately dipped in cold water.

Next, you need sugar syrup, which we will cook on the stove. To do this, pour sugar and acid into the pan. Now you need to drain the water from the pumpkin, throwing it on a sieve. Pour the pumpkin with syrup and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. When the fire is turned off, the pan should be left to infuse for 10 hours.

Boil the cooled pumpkin again for 15 minutes over low heat. After that, we stand again for 10 hours. We repeat the procedure for the third time, boiling the pumpkin until fully cooked (approximately this is when the syrup boils at 108 ° C). At the third brew, vanillin is added.

Throwing the pumpkin on a sieve, let the syrup drain. This will take about 2 hours. Having spread the pumpkin cubes on a baking sheet, we send them to the oven, heated to 40 ° C. When the sweets are half ready, take out the candied fruits and roll them in sugar. After that, we send it back to the oven until the end of drying. Ready candied fruits will not stick and will be completely dry to the touch.

Candied pumpkin dried in syrup

Candied fruits can also be dried in natural conditions. For this we take:

• Pumpkin - 1 kg;
• Sugar - 0.8 kg;
• Citric acid - 5 g.

If you do not want to use the oven, prepare a dish according to the simplest recipe: first, candied pumpkins are boiled in syrup, dried after natural drying. You can add cinnamon, citrus zest and more to them. We wash and clean the pumpkin from the peel and seeds. Then we cut the pulp into cubes and sprinkle them with sugar (200 g). In this form, the pumpkin is left to extract the juice. After that, heat the mass to a boil over low heat.

Next, the pumpkin should cool. 1 st. the juice drained from it is added to the remaining sugar, acid is also sent there. Cook the syrup until all the sugar has dissolved. Still with hot syrup, pour the cooled pumpkin and send it to cook until tender on a slow fire. You can remove from heat when the pumpkin becomes transparent, and the syrup acquires the density of honey.

After draining the syrup from the pumpkin, dry the pieces at room temperature for about 2 days, rolling in sugar or powder, cinnamon or zest. You can prepare candied pumpkin for the winter.

Candied pumpkin in the dryer

You can speed up the process of preparing candied fruits with an electric dryer. For their preparation, we take products in such quantities:

• Pumpkin - 3 kg;
• Sugar - 0.6 kg;
• Powdered sugar - 4 tbsp. l.;
• Lemon - 1 pc.

Wash and clean the pumpkin, then cut it into small pieces. Then sprinkle with sugar and set aside until the juice stands out. After a while, the released juice is poured into the pan, adding pieces of lemon there, and let it boil a little. We filter the finished syrup while still hot into a container with a pumpkin.

Cook pumpkin in syrup in cycles. Boil for about 5 minutes, then cool. So we repeat a couple more times. The last time we drain the syrup from the pumpkin and send it to dry in an electric dryer for 4 hours, setting the temperature to 60 ° C. It remains to roll sweets in powdered sugar. Candied pumpkins cooked in a dryer are stored in glass containers that are hermetically sealed. Bon appetit!

Candied pumpkin in vegetable dryer

To combat stress and apathy, candied fruits are the best medicine, as they are rich in iron. And vitamin E contained in pumpkin will keep the skin young and fresh. By the way, pumpkin is a dietary product, so candied fruits can be included in the daily morning diet for those who want to lose extra pounds.

Candied pumpkin "Exquisite"

Products:

• Two kilos of peeled pumpkin;
• Sugar - 600 grams;
• Two oranges and one lemon;
• Glass of water.

For powder:

• Powdered sugar;
• Cinnamon;
• Vanillin;
• Cloves (grind in a coffee grinder).

Cooking:

1. Cut the pumpkin into medium pieces or slices.
2. Put in a saucepan with a thick bottom.
3. Boil the syrup: Pour the sugar with water, put on fire and cook until all the sugar is dissolved and the syrup becomes thick.
4. Add finely chopped lemon and oranges to the syrup, mix.
5. Pour pumpkin slices with syrup.
6. Put on fire and bring to a boil.
7. Boil for five minutes.
8. Leave from the stove for ten to twelve hours to completely cool the pumpkin.
9. Put the pot back on fire again.
10. Boil pumpkin until it becomes transparent.
11. After cooling completely, transfer the pumpkin pieces to a sieve.
12. When the syrup drains from the pumpkin (after three to four hours), spread the pumpkin on the racks of the vegetable dryer.
13. Dry four to five hours.
14. Prepare the powder: mix powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
15. Arrange the finished candied fruits on a dish (after spreading parchment paper on it), let them cool.
16. Sprinkle with prepared mixture.

You can immediately serve with tea, put the rest of the “sweets” in a glass container or food container and put in the refrigerator.

Recipe "Easiest"

Candied fruits are prepared from a minimum set of products:

• Kilo pumpkin, peeled and seeds;
• 400 grams of sugar;
• Half glass of water.

Cooking:

1. Cut pumpkin into medium sized pieces.
2. Place in an enameled bowl.
3. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Pour in water.
5. Put in the refrigerator for a day so that the pumpkin starts up the juice.
6. Drain the resulting syrup, heat to a boil and pour over the pumpkin slices.
7. Put the bowl on the fire, bring to a boil and leave to boil for ten minutes.
8. Put the pumpkin in a colander.
9. When the juice drains, put the pumpkin in the dryer tray, and leave for three to four hours.

Sprinkle finished candied fruit with sugar and put in a food container, put in the refrigerator or on the balcony.

Candied pumpkin in the Isidri dryer

It is better to dry the pumpkin in the Isidri dryer. The main advantage of the dryer is that it does not overdry the product. Therefore, the resulting candied fruits retain not only the maximum amount of nutrients, but also the natural taste and aroma.

To prepare candied pumpkin in the Izidri dryer, you need:

1. Pour a glass of water into a basin or a saucepan with a thick bottom and add a glass of sugar.
2. Put on fire. As soon as the water boils, put one lemon, peeled and cut into small pieces, a vanilla stick, a few pieces of star anise, into the syrup.
3. Dip a kilogram of sliced ​​\u200b\u200bpumpkin into the syrup.
4. Bring to a boil and boil for twenty minutes.
5. Leave the pumpkin to cool completely for ten to twelve hours.
6. Drain the syrup (leave the sweet mixture for soaking cakes or making compotes).
7. Transfer the pumpkin pieces to a sieve so that all excess liquid is glass.
8. Arrange the pumpkin on the drying rack.
9. Dry at very low temperature for eight to ten hours.

A simple recipe for candied pumpkin cooked in the oven will help preserve what nature has given. Nothing will be lost from a rich harvest - everything will go to processing and will benefit health. A delicious natural treat may well replace sweets. This is both a dessert and a snack with a diet.

And why was Cinderella so upset when her carriage turned into a pumpkin? Well, what a sweetness in that pompous carriage - a piece of wood, only joy that it is gilded! Whether it's a pumpkin: unpretentious, fruitful, tasty, healthy, nutritious! One drawback - the berry is too big, just the size of a carriage!

So we, like industrious Cinderellas, on the threshold of winter, urgently and creatively process the failed carriage into compote, jam, jam, freeze it or pickle it. But when it turns out that all the cans-bottles, pantries-cellars and other freezers have already ended, and the pumpkin is still not there, the only way out is to dry! And quickly and most effectively dry the pumpkin, of course, in an electric dryer.

TO how to dry a pumpkin in an electric dryer

To begin with, you need to open the pumpkin, at least just cut it in half, it will go on easier. For this, it is advisable to choose a knife not the sharpest, but the most durable, because the crust of a good autumn pumpkin is not softer than a carriage door made of bog oak. Let us take longer with a thick knife, but we will save our fingers!

Finally, the pumpkin is opened, and a bonus awaits us inside - seeds. In no case should you throw them away, they are incredibly beneficial for health in general, and especially for men! Sort, rinse, dry (do not fry!) - and click with benefit and pleasure!

And we will continue the dissection. The most convenient sequence of operations is as follows: after the pumpkin has been broken into two parts along the meridian, we cut off both “polar half-caps” to the thickness of the pulp. Next, we cut the resulting two semicircles and one semicylinder into convenient slices 2-3 cm wide, from which it is already quite easy to cut off the crust without risking being left without fingers.

Well, after that, you can safely take a sharp knife with a wide blade and carefully cut the pumpkin pulp into a medium cube (a centimeter or a little less). Some fruits and vegetables are recommended to be blanched or at least scalded before drying, but this is not about pumpkin, it will dry perfectly without any additional tricks.

Pumpkin cubes evenly, in one layer and not too closely laid out on the pallets of the electric dryer, turn it on to the maximum temperature - and start waiting.

You will have to wait until-o-o-o-lgo, at least 12 hours, or even more, it all depends on the pumpkin variety and its degree of maturity.

Alas, no matter how over-the-top electric dryer we have, just “let it go and forget it”, like a homing rocket, will not work: from time to time the pallets will have to be swapped, the pumpkin cubes should be mixed so that they do not stick together, but dry evenly. At night, it is extremely undesirable to leave the dryer to work unattended, just in case of a fire, it is safer to turn it off in order to restart our miracle unit in the morning and continue the dehydration process further, to the bitter end.

Well, the cherished hour has come, hard heavy pumpkin cubes have turned into elastic light pads, which we immediately, until they have absorbed moisture from the surrounding air, must be hermetically sealed.

It is best to use plastic containers with screw caps or special "self-sealing" bags, from which, as necessary, we will pour a little into a "operational jar".

Dried pumpkin is ready! Glory to us, hardworking (and modest) Cinderellas! Now, until the very new harvest of carriages, sorry - pumpkins - at any moment we can, without fear, suddenly something somewhere has thawed, or sour, or moldy, or somehow rotten, - get a handful or two of dry and light pumpkin shavings and cook from them whatever your darling wishes: even soup, even a pie, even compote!

And if you add a little imagination, a little dried fruit, a spoonful of honey and nut butter, a pinch of spices to dried pumpkin, then in just half an hour we will easily prepare an incredibly tasty, delicate, healthy, fragrant and absolutely dietary dessert, like Cinderella at her first ball never tried it.

This is all because she misused her carriage! 😉

As you can see, drying a pumpkin for the winter is easy and simple. Delicious and easy preparations for all of us!

Pumpkin is rich in vitamins C, E, B1, B2, PP and minerals (calcium, potassium, magnesium and others). In addition, pumpkin contains carotene and fiber. In autumn, when this vegetable is sold everywhere, you can cook porridge from it, stew it and use it as a filling for pies and pies. However, in winter you will not have to give up this delicacy. How to dry pumpkin at home?

How to dry pumpkin

How to dry a pumpkin: preliminary preparation

The quality of the finished dessert will directly depend on how you prepare the pumpkin. Let's walk through the preparation process step by step.

• Wash the pumpkin, peel it, cut it in half and remove the seeds. By the way, they can not be thrown away, but dried and eaten. This is useful!
• Cut pumpkin pulp into pieces. They should be quite large (about 3.5 cm thick). The pumpkin greatly decreases in size when dried.
• Spread the workpiece in a container in a thin layer and sprinkle with sugar. Use it at the rate of 200 g of sugar per 1 kg of pumpkin pulp. Place a press on top and put it all away for 15 hours in a cool place.
• After 15 hours, drain the juice, sprinkle the workpiece again with sugar and put it in a cool place for 12 hours.
• Add some sugar to the juice and boil it. When it cools down a little, put the prepared pumpkin into it for 15 minutes. Discard the pumpkin in a colander.

After that, the pumpkin can be dried using one of the methods described below.

How to dry a pumpkin in an electric dryer, in an oven, in the air

Lay the prepared pieces of pumpkin on a wire rack and put it in a ventilated place for 2 days, then mix the workpiece and let it stand for another 2 days. At this time, the sun's rays should not fall on the workpiece. After the specified time, you can expose the pumpkin to the sun for about 1 week.

Drying pumpkins outdoors is a very lengthy process. It is much easier to use an oven or an electric dryer.

Spread the pumpkin on a baking sheet in a single layer and keep in the oven for 30 minutes at a temperature of 80°C, and then another 40 minutes at a temperature of 70°C. Cool the workpiece and repeat these two steps again.

If you have an electric dryer, spread the pumpkin in its tray and turn on the maximum temperature. Once the pumpkin pieces begin to dry out, reduce the temperature to 65°C and cook the pumpkin until tender.

Now you know how to properly dry a pumpkin in the oven, electric dryer, and even outdoors. Be sure to prepare this vegetable for the winter so that you always have a vitamin dessert on hand.

Real works of applied art can be obtained from the “natural product” collected on the “natural product”. For some, this statement sounds somewhat unusual, but there is a considerable amount of truth in it. One has only to take a closer look at, and you will surely see the appropriate "". Especially in this regard, massive gourds stand out, so let's consider what can be done from the grown and prepared decorative.

What can be made from pumpkin

The first thing that comes to mind is a "head" for Halloween. But the decorative "abilities" of the steep-sided culture do not end there.

If you arm yourself with imagination and make some efforts, then from this plant you can build:

It turns out that the assortment of crafts from a prepared decorative pumpkin is limited only by the imagination of the master. But no less important role is played by the blanks themselves, which are worth mentioning separately.

Choice of pumpkin for decoration

A small plant weighing from 100 to 500 g is best suited for such purposes. You can take all ripe and healthy rounds from this weight category. Fruits with more impressive "dimensions", in turn, are distinguished by thicker pulp, which is more likely to rot than reach the desired conditions.

Naturally, the pumpkin should be whole, without scratches, and even more so cracks. Equally important is the place of gathering and its time. So, the best choice would be a fruit hanging on a dried brown lash. But immature, too loose or "stuck" by the first frost specimens should be immediately put aside.

A separate topic is decorative melon lines. The most popular of them are the following varieties:

• "Orange" really like citrus. Small size (up to 300 g) combined with a bright color make these fruits a welcome decoration. In appearance, they can be both spherical and slightly flattened.
• "Tangerine". These crumbs are easily recognizable by their smooth skin with underdeveloped ribs.
• "Chalmoid". It is distinguished by an unusual type of fruit, which, as it were, is assembled from two parts. The variety is considered large and amazes with a variety of design options. Instances with a large upper half are often referred to as fungi.
• "Baby Boo", which, due to its small (10 cm) diameter and white color, can be mistaken for a giant garlic.
• "Kleine Bicolor". The contrasting "pear" color scheme is emphasized by a clear border: a dark green underside with light stripes is replaced by a rich yellow top.
• "Sweet Dumpling". Quite large (400–500 g) fruits with ribs delight the eye with alternating white or yellowish “facets” and green stripes with frequent white dots running along their entire length.

Important! With open "garden" drying, the plant quickly begins to "give out" an unpleasant odor, so it is better to place it away from the gazebo and paths.

In addition to varietal diversity, there is also a species "scatter". The fact is that pumpkins of the original “bottle” shape, which are in demand as decorations, belong to a different species, known as lagenaria. And already from this “section” the most spectacular varieties stand out, such as the club-shaped line “Cobra” with spotted coloring and a bizarre shape.

Preparation

Even before you dry the pumpkin you like to get crafts from it, it will have to be properly prepared. This process is not fraught with special tricks and comes down to the following procedures:

• To begin with, the peel is washed in soapy water and thoroughly dried.
• After that, the fruit is wiped with alcohol or any liquids with its "participation".
• It remains to transfer the pumpkin to a place protected from sunlight. In such a room there should be good ventilation. There, the workpiece will stay until its shell begins to change color (this is about 1-2 weeks).

How to dry a pumpkin for long-term storage

Proper drying is a delicate process, and it also requires a fair amount of patience. If the fruit of the usual form can dry from 3 months to six months, then a more “thick-skinned” lagenaria will take at least 10 months (or even 1 year).

Did you know?It takes an average of 35-40 fruits to prepare 1 liter of pumpkin seed oil.

The main rule is that shrinkage should be natural. Some try to speed it up by “running” in the microwave or oven, but this negates all the decorativeness of the fruit: at the slightest mistake, the pumpkin will turn out to be baked, and it would be wiser to eat it. With such heat treatment, the structure of the fibers is disturbed, and as a result, the peel loses the necessary rigidity.

Therefore, it would be better to let the moisture out "to chance". The role is assigned to the pores covering the surface of the fruit and the stalk. Immediately before drying the whole ripe pumpkin chosen for decoration, you will have to put an oilcloth or a piece of thick film under it - over time it gives a natural leak. This is a necessary condition for storage in room.
This method is the most massive and simple, but it has its own nuances that it is advisable to keep in mind:

• The fruits are laid out (or better - hung) on ​​the loggia or balcony. If “lying” storage is planned, they try to place the pumpkin on a table with frequent gaps between the planks - they will provide proper ventilation.
• Do not forget about the constant circulation of air (for these reasons, solid countertops and closed cabinets, warm kitchens or musty cellars are not suitable).
• The first couple of weeks, the blanks are inspected every day, rejecting too soft or wrinkled specimens. There is one tricky point here related to mold. It can appear on the peel from exposure to moisture flowing from the fruit. Such "traces" are easily erased, but after a couple of days they appear again. This is not scary - at the end of drying, you will see an unusual pattern on the "skin" of the vegetable.

Important!Purely fodder varieties are difficult to decorate- not every knife can cope with bulky and dense pulp.

• Unripe pumpkins rot most often, while hitting their ripe "colleagues". Seeing a small spot, try to put pressure on it with your finger - rot lends itself immediately, and it is better to throw out such an instance. Due to inexperience, the “effect” of rot can be confused with mold, which was mentioned in the paragraph above.
• For uniform shrinkage, weekly turning is required (at least once a week and a half). This simple manipulation will keep the pumpkins from rotting.

Did you know?Every autumn (September to November) the German city of Ludwigsburg turns into the “pumpkin capital of the world”. There is the largest festival entirely dedicated to this culture.

Some purely decorative varieties in warm regions can be dried on fresh air. Here, too, there are technological subtleties:

• First of all, the fruit is cut off along with a 4–5 cm tail. It is not worth tearing it off - moisture evaporates much worse through an uneven hole, which will slow down the whole process.
• The tail is also required (torn stalks are very susceptible to rot).
• The future "decor" is hung separately or placed on ventilated wooden pallets. Otherwise, the requirements are the same: regular inspection and “scrolling” with rejection as necessary.

By the way, about waste. Get ready for the fact that even with the right content, 7–10% of the blanks will go to the pit - this is the price “for beauty”.

In addition to the two main methods, there is another one. This storage "on the vine", which is practiced by followers of the most natural agricultural technology. Everything is simple here - the fruits dry out without separation from the plant. For the best effect, they are placed in divided sections of the fence or palisade with prepared niches.

The obvious advantages of such drying are excellent ventilation, coupled with a good “preservation” of a ripened pumpkin, which is not afraid of rain or frost. Already after the cut, it lends itself well to varnishing or painting. Of the shortcomings, only the insecurity of such plantations stands out - they can easily become the prey of country thieves or suffer from large animals.

How to determine readiness

Having found out the main details, let's not forget about such a question as checking the readiness of the product for artistic processing.

You can already determine it by color: the fruit, completely dried from the inside, will fade a little (if an ordinary pumpkin was used). Lagenaria, on the other hand, change their green color to yellowish brown or become completely brown.