How to Carve a Pumpkin to Make a Pumpkin Soup Bowl

A lot of people learn how to carve a pumpkin to make jack-o-lanterns but there is another use for the pumpkin, after you have removed the flesh and seeds, and that is making a pumpkin soup bowl.

It is easy to carve a pumpkin and make a pumpkin soup bowl with it. You can serve cold foods like salad from the pumpkin or hot foods like stew or, better still, your favorite pumpkin soup recipe. These containers can easily hold up to a gallon of pumpkin soup.

Choose a flat-bottomed pumpkin to make a pumpkin bowl and put it on a stable surface, flat side down. Draw a line around the widest part, using a felt-tip pen, and make a handle by drawing a wide band across the pumpkin top, joining it to the midpoint line.

Carving the Bowl

Cut into the pumpkin with a sharp knife, in the space between the handle and the widest point. Cut towards the midpoint line. You might need to really hack at it because pumpkins are tough and thick. Cut away the excess pumpkin shell, following your drawn on guidelines. Remove the seeds and pulp, using a big metal spoon.

You will end up with a pumpkin bowl that looks like a big orange Easter basket. Coat the edge with vegetable oil so it looks fresh and shiny. If you do not want the handle, you can simply cut a lid off the pumpkin, about two thirds of the way up.

Serving Soup in a Pumpkin Bowl

You can either use one of the above cool ways to carve a pumpkin to make your bowl or use small pumpkins to make individual bowls. To make individual pumpkin soup serving bowls, cut the tops carefully from each pumpkin, in a straight line.

Scoop out the stringy mass and the seeds, taking care not to slice through the pumpkin flesh while you do this. Remove the pulp and seeds from the lids as well as the main body and cut a thin layer from the pumpkin bottoms, so they will sit flat.

Dam some lemon or lime juice over the cut surfaces of the pumpkin, to keep them from turning brown before you are ready to use them.

Reasons to Make a Pumpkin Soup Bowl

Soup in a pumpkin bowl is a lot of fun. Not only are pumpkin soup bowls easy to make but they really add to the festivities. Whether you are having a Halloween dinner, a dinner party or you simply want to do something fun for the kids, learning how to carve a pumpkin to make a pumpkin soup bowl is a great idea.

Why discard the pumpkin itself when you have removed the flesh? You can use the seeds for roasting, the flesh for making pumpkin soup and the rest to make your pumpkin soup bowl. Of course, you will need some pumpkin puree or additional pumpkin flesh from another pumpkin too, because you need to leave a thick wall in your pumpkin soup bowl, else it will not be strong enough to hold the soup.

You can serve any pumpkin soup recipe you like in a pumpkin soup bowl. Recipes for creamy pumpkin soups, a canned pumpkin soup recipe, or spicy pumpkin soup are all great.