Wait! Don’t throw away that pumpkin. Cathy Isom tells you how to properly store your pumpkin now that Halloween is over. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Pumpkin Storage
If you were like me and never got around to carving the Halloween pumpkins, the good news is we can still use them as decoration for Thanksgiving.
Maybe you have a pumpkin variety that can be baked or pureed to use as a filling for a homemade pumpkin pie or a soup.
USDA’s Marketing Service spokesperson Dave Horner says storage is simple.
Storing, you can put in a mason jar and freeze it that way. It can keep up to 9 months to 12 months depending on how cold your freezer is. If it’s chunked pumpkin most people cook it first and then they chunk it they use a scoop and they go and scoop chunks out of it and you can take the chunks and put them on a baking sheet and then you can freeze it. And then once they’re frozen you can take them and put them in a freezer bag. That way they don’t stick to each other. And they’ll keep up to a year in the freezer. if you pack them up real well.
And even fresh pumpkins can be stored for up to two months under proper condition.
Keep them in a cool place like 50-55 degrees and 50 to 70-percent humidity.