Pumpkin blast ‘like a bomb’
Woman who tried to soften vegetable in microwave left with painful burns after it exploded
Awoman who took a hot pumpkin out of her microwave was left with burns on her face, chest and hand after the vegetable exploded “like a bomb”.
Florencia Ferrari says she wants to tell her cautionary tale about the perils of microwaving the popular staple to warn others of the risk.
On Friday, the Havelock North woman bought a small gem squash pumpkin from a Hastings supermarket to cook a stuffed pumpkin meal in the oven in her stove.
“I tried to cut it in half but it was too hard, the skin was too hard. I put it in the microwave for a little over two minutes to soften the skin.”
Disaster struck when she went to take the pumpkin out.
“The pumpkin had a little hole in the top from the knife. I saw water bubbling in the hole. I took a thick cloth to take it out. As soon as I touched it, it exploded. It was like a little bomb.”
Ferrari ended up with boiling hot pumpkin all over her.
“... Especially my face. My right wrist and chest got blisters.”
Ferrari said her 3-month-old baby was playing on a mat close by. “I am just glad that he was safe.” Ferrari visited a chemist to get
treatment for her “very, very painful” injuries and they gave her moisturiser to prevent infection.
She was also given dressings after a visit to Hastings Health Centre and is returning every day to get them changed.
Originally from Argentina, Ferrari has been a Hawke’s Bay resident for the past year and half.
In future she intends to treat every pumpkin with caution.
“[There are] different ways of cooking it. I suppose I wasn’t doing it right.”
Chef at Havelock North’s Village Green Cafe, Jason Karena, said there were different ways to cook a pumpkin but he’d never heard of anyone microwaving one, even for a short period.
“I would never microwave a pumpkin.”
Karena said it was like putting a giant egg it the microwave — it would eventually explode.
To prepare pumpkins for cooking, he recommended peeling them before cutting them into smaller pieces.
Roasting the smaller pieces at around 180C for 30 to 40 minutes would produce a tasty result, as would boiling and then mashing them.
I took a thick cloth to take it out. As soon as I touched it, it exploded. Florencia Ferrari