How to carve a Halloween Turnip

 Post by Hebe

In my english class this year we learned about Halloween.  My writing assignment was to learn about the history of Halloween.  I learned that Jack-O-Lanterns come from a Celtic tradition of carving TURNIPS.

I am going to show you how to carve a TURNIP.  I learned by watching this video. How to Carve a Turnip   Here is me rewatching the video during the process.

You can learn more about Turnip carving on Wikipedia.History of Jack-O-Lanterns

Here are my first efforts to carve a turnip.

Step 1 - Cut off the bottom and top.  Cutting off the bottom keeps you turnip sitting flat on the ground.  The top becomes the lid.

Step 2 

Hollow out your turnip.  It is really stiff and hard.  Use a knife to cut around the inside and a spoon to carve out the middle.  Get your mom to help you.

Step 3 - Draw a face on your turnip, then cut it out.  Pumpkin carving tools work pretty well or an exacto knife. 

Step 4 - Put a light inside.  Tea lights work best but ours were broken.  We used a tea light but be careful.  At the end of the night our top was cooked.

STEP 5 - Put your turnip outside and go trick or treating.

Step 6 - Come home and eat your candy, not the TURNIP.

THE NEXT DAY - What to do with your turnip?  Why not try this recipe from a recipe book called Vegetables You Used to Hate.  

Here is our efforts to follow the recipe.  We will let you know how it tastes.