I'm interested in growing a few pumpkins this year and to keep the
seeds... I enjoy them raw, but I buy them already dehulled... is there
an easy way to do that at home?

Thanks,
Bristen.

ps: if possible, please reply to my email as well as group...

steve wertz

I believe that the hulled pumpkin seeds are a different variety
than your typical Halloween pumpkin. Styrian pumpkins (From
Styria) are specifically grown for their seeds and oil, and I
believe that's where common pepitas come from.

Can you hell them at home? Sure. One by one. It will be 20x
more cost effective to buy raw, hulled pepitas for $2.50/lb and
roast/season them yourself. This is what I do.


Nope. Doesn't work that way.

-sw

kathleen

I roast and eat the seeds from our Halloween pumpkins shell and all.
The best ones come from the common orange pumpkins. The seeds from the
white pumpkins, and those giant pinkish things (I think they're some
sort of gourd rather than a true pumpkin) are too tough for this method.

Kathleen

sf

Sure it does, if you choose.
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

sf

I've roasted the seeds of many pumpkins over the years and they NEVER
turn out right no matter what I do to them. So, I still prefer buying
a package of already roasted and salted pepitas. Less work, better
eating.
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

kathleen

If that's what you like, why not?

I like to toss the seeds with some melted butter, garlic, cayenne
pepper, soy sauce, cajun seasoning or whatever else I happen to have on
hand. I leave some of the strings/pulp for flavor, add the seasonings
and then bake at about 300 F, stirring frequently, for as long as it
takes to get the seeds brown and crispy. The time will obviously vary
with the size of the batch and personal preference and the tasting and
testing is part of the fun.

mr libido incognito

What I liked about roasting pumpkins was the kids...The procedure lasted
about a week...From the driving around several sites thumping pumpkins to
selecting the best one...to the drawing the face, carving and getting out
the seeds...The washing and drying of the seeds then the tossing in
melted butter and the sprinkling on of the salt and seasoning. We used to
slow roast in a 200F oven to get the house full of the smell. The kids
enjoyed doing it all. Definately time well spent. These days I just buy
them. But now my 33 yr old daughter still continues the pumpkin seed
tradition.

All the talking and the bright eyes...all the screw ups...mine too. When
I started to do this I just soaked the seeds over night in salty water
then put them on a cookie sheet dotted with butter and sprinkled with
salt...later on I refined the recipe. But the kids enjoyed even the
fasilures and talked about the roasting days prior and after the
halloween event almost as much as about the candy they got trick or
treating.

--
-Alan

-l.

What are you doing? I have it down to an art.

-L.

-l.

We do this. Last year it was 17 pumpkins. We are pretty famous for our
Jack-O-Lanterns. We also have pumpkin seeds to eat all year (We don't
save them all - only the biggest and the best.)

-L.

sf

I've tried pretty much every method from soaking for days to dry
roasting.... it's not something I want to get back into. I did it
every year as my kids grew up, they can do it with their kids now.
Surfice it to say, I never developed a taste for home roasted pumpkin
seeds. I prefer them from a package, precooked, preshelled and
presalted.



--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.