Pumpkin seeds can be toasted in the oven or in a skillet on the stove top.
Pumpkin seeds, a tasty and very healthy snack especially when roasted, are popular treats around Halloween and Thanksgiving when pumpkins are fresh and ripe. Also known as pepitas, pumpkin seeds can be toasted with either their white outer coat, or with just the green interior. Toasting pumpkin seeds at holiday time is a fun, festive way to include the whole family in a cooking project that is produces a healthy snack that can be eaten as soon as the seeds are cool enough to handle.
Instructions
Harvesting Pumpkin Seeds for Toasting
1. Select a fresh pumpkin. During the autumn months and around holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, fresh pumpkins are available at road side stands, farms and in your local grocery store. Select a well rounded pumpkin that is firm and sounds hollow when you knock on it. Avoid pumpkins with soft spots, broken areas, or rotten sections.
2. Prepare your work surface. Hollowing a pumpkin is extremely messy work. Cover your work surface with newspaper or a disposable table cloth. Set your pumpkin on the work surface, and gather your knife, spoon, and bowl. You will not want to run back and forth to gather your tools once you have cut open the pumpkin, as this could create a mess.
3. Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin. Using your knife and working very carefully, cut a circle out from around the stem, approximately six inches in circumference. You can choose to mark this circle by drawing it with a marker or pencil, but that is not necessary. Cut deeply enough to penetrate the skin and flesh of the pumpkin. Work slowly, to avoid injury.
4. Harvest the pulp and seeds. Remove the top of the pumpkin and set it aside. Using your spoon, scrape out all the pulp and seeds from the interior of the pumpkin. Set this material on your work surface.
5. Separate the pulp and seeds. By hand, remove the seeds from the pulp, and place them into a bowl. Leave the pulp on your work surface.
6. Clean up your work area and seeds. You may choose to keep the pumpkin as a decoration or continue carving it into a jack o'lantern, or you may discard it. The newspaper or table cloth from your work surface can be used to bundle up the pulp and juices and then be discarded. Tools and your seeds should be taken to the sink for washing. Once washed, the seeds may be prepared for toasting. Rinse seeds in a colander, so that you don't loose any and so that they are easily able to drain.
Finding Pumpkin Seeds for Toasting
7. Purchase pumpkin seeds from a grocery store. Check in both the snack foods isles and where the bulk food bins are located. Many grocery stores sell bulk pumpkin seeds by the pound. Check labels to determine whether the seeds have already been toasted or dried, as many markets offer several varieties of pumpkin seeds. If you are uncertain, speak with a store employee. Purchase as much fresh seed as you need, and prepare it for toasting.
8. Purchase pumpkin seeds from health food stores. Health food stores typically have a wide variety of seeds available to purchase in bulk. These may be either loose in a bin, or prepackaged in smaller bags for purchase. Read labels carefully to determine whether or not the seeds have already been toasted or dried, and ask an employee if you are uncertain about the product.
9. Purchase pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin patch. Much of the seed used on a pumpkin patch is for planting. However, the vast number of pumpkins being grown on the farms will not all be purchased, but will instead be processed for seeds and pumpkin flesh. Check the shelves of the the pumpkin patch's store, or speak with an employee about purchasing seeds for consumption.
10. Grow your own pumpkins to harvest for seeds. Purchase pumpkin seeds for planting from your local nursery or home improvement or gardening store. Plant them according to the directions. Once your pumpkins have grown and ripened, harvest the seeds for your own use.
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