Don’t waste your money on pumpkin fresh. I did some research to see if there was a way to keep our jack o lanterns looking better longer, and came across a science experience where they tested 5 methods against a control pumpkin. A few of these methods had been recommended to me, and now I know not to use them. Please use this link to read the full experiment yourself, myscienceproject.org.
Since one of the test pumpkins had to soak for 8 hours, they got that one ready first. This method was the bleach method. They removed the pulp of the pumpkin, carved it then soaked it for 8 hours. After it was done soaking, they also sprayed it with a bleach solution.
They used pumpkin fresh spray on the next one. This spray they used daily as the directions on the bottle informed them.
Another method they used was Vaseline. This was spread inside of the pumpkin and on the cut surfaces in hopes to keep it hydrated.
Next was white glue. This was intended to also keep it hydrated, but by locking in the moisture since the glue dries and should trap in the moisture.
The last one they tried was acrylic spray. Again the hope was to keep it hydrated while preventing mold growth.
They checked the pumpkins on a daily basis to see if there had been changes, and of course even after 24 hours there were. The one that had already changed the most was the control pumpkin. So from this stand point, it would look like a good investment to purchase one of these methods to preserve your pumpkin, however by day six there were some noticeable differences. The control pumpkin did have some fuzz, but the glue pumpkin was bad. The pumpkin fresh pumpkin actually looked pretty good still.
Then we get to day 14 where they decided to call a winner. They weren’t fully able to it was a draw between the control pumpkin and the pumpkin fresh pumpkin. In my opinion, this makes the control pumpkin a winner. The control pumpkin didn’t have any help staying hydrated or anything trying to prevent mold. So why would anyone want to waste their money on something that will not prevent the pumpkin from rotting in the end? Keep your $4.99 and shipping.
Just keep in mind that pumpkins will go bad. Buy a few if you want to keep your front porch decorated all month, and only carve one or two at a time. Whey you don’t like the appearance anymore, carve up another one or two. This gives you the chance to put different pumpkins out and be creative with the carving of each one as well. Or if you just want a few out for Halloween itself, then make a day of Halloween or the day before to get your carving done so it looks fresh and great the day people come up to your door. Remember to have a safe and fun Halloween.
