With the arrival of autumn, different seasonal products also arrive on our tables that we can make the most of. Among them is pumpkin, a very healthy and versatile vegetable that stars in different recipes, from starters to main dishes, creams and desserts.
Pumpkin has a fairly thick skin, which can make it difficult for us to know when it is at its ideal point of ripeness. Cooking it can be quite a challenge if we don't know if it is ready to eat, and we risk that our recipes will not turn out as we expect by using a very green or overripe pumpkin.
Although the pumpkin peel reveals little about its interior, there are some signs that can tell us if it is ripe, or if we should still wait a few days to use it. The first thing we should look at is its color, which ideally should be a more or less pale orange tone. If we find that it has dark spots, this indicates that it is already starting to rot.
Another indicator that we can see in the pumpkin peel is its texture to the touch. It should be hard and firm, since the more mature the vegetable is, the more solid its peel becomes. To check this, just squeeze the pumpkin with your fingers. You can also sink your nail into it, and if it only leaves a small mark this means it is ripe. If, instead, our nail pierces it when doing this test, this means that it has not yet reached the ideal point.
One last trick to tell if a pumpkin is ripe is to tap it with your knuckles. If when doing this test it makes a hollow sound, this means that it is ready to eat. If, on the other hand, the sound that the pumpkin makes when you hit it is duller, it will indicate that its pulp is still too watery and that you still have a few days left before you can incorporate it into your recipes.
