A question for the "Old Skool" Welsh and Irish on my f-list

[xiphias]

So, let's say that I had turnips around to make stew with, and it's also getting on toward Halloween, and as I usually peel turnips to put into stews anyway, I started thinking about making an Old School jack-o-lantern out of one or two of 'em.

'Cause, well, I am.

(Jack-o-lanterns used to be made from turnips. They switched to pumpkins in the New World, because pumpkins are like a million times easier to carve.)

How would I go about hollowing out a turnip?

First, since I've got both (they taste different, and I like to have both in my stew), should I use the large yellow turnip (aka rutabaga or swede), or the smaller purple-top turnips?

Second, how do I get the insides out? I'm figuring "stab with a knife and scoop out with a grapefruit spoon" -- are there any better ideas, or is that about the state of the art?

Comments

Here's a knife-only idea...

[nesher.livejournal.com]

Ok, so I've never attempted anything like this, but here's an idea that my engineering brain came up with for hollowing the thing out and still having edible scraps. Start, as many folks suggested, by cutting a cone to the desired depth. Then run the knife vertically around the rim of the cone, cutting the sides of a cylinder. Next, insert the knife at an angle through the side of the cone, so the cut intersects the bottom of the cylinder cut. This should leave you with a hollowed out cylinder with a ridge ring around the bottom. From here, I suspect some careful slicing with a small paring knife should be able to clear out the bottom.

Hope this helps...