Thermal blast peeling
of the Alagold variety of pumpkin has been investigated
by Harris and Smith (1985). They achieved 89.4% peeling
yield by weight after thermal blast peeling at 343 C for
45 s. Mechanical peeling, as mentioned above, is still preferred
and for the pumpkin it is currently carried out
either semi-automatically or automatically. Rotating
graters are used in semi-automated peelers. This process
causes high peeling losses and low productivity because
of the uneven shape of the pumpkin surface. Low safety
is another problem because of the possibility of the
rotated grater coming into contact with the operator’s
hands. Whole pumpkins can also be passed continuously
through the automatic peelers.