Toasting pumpkin or squash seeds - is there a trick?
Okay, the time is approaching when I will once again probably try and fail to toast pumpkin seeds and achieve something edible. I can't list how many recipes I've tried, and somehow they all turn out dreadfully tough and woody. Is it really possible to make good roasted/toasted pumpkin or squash seeds at home? If so, how? Or is this just something that people say they eat and like, but nobody really does?
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15 Comments:
Maybe try increasing the butter in the recipes you're using. I usually make mine with brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin and a pinch of salt instead of just salt and butter. The sweetness makes them seem less dry.
yayfood at 11:08PM on 09/24/09
Thanks, yayfood. This sounds wonderful! Could you give me some directions? I'm hopeless at guessing how much butter to how much (many, although I don't count them) seeds.
Likeswords at 11:38PM on 09/24/09
Pick through the pumpkin guts and save only the plump mature seeds, no strings attached. Soak them at least two hours or overnight in 2-4 tablespoons of table salt dissolved in 2 cups of water. Drain the seeds in a colander and blot with paper towels. Roast on parchment- or nonstick foil-lined baking sheet(s) at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, for one hour or until seeds are dry and barely golden.
Before baking, for every three cups of seeds, you could also melt 2 tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil) and stir in a teaspoon of any combination of spices like chili powder, garlic salt (if you only have garlic powder, use just a few shakes), cumin, cayenne, sugar, curry powder, cinnamon or Worcestershire sauce. Stir the seeds into the flavored oil until all the seeds are coated, then bake as above.
I've tried recipes that call for baking at 375 for 10 or 12 minutes, but no one liked them that way. It must be like cooking ribs--low and slow is the way to go.
betteirene at 12:25AM on 09/25/09
i've been roasting acorn squash seeds and they're good, you can eat the whole seed.... i pull the seeds away from the guts, as much as possible... this stuff kind of dehydrates when you bake them anyway. i spray them with olive oil (i keep a spray bottle full of olive oil in the kitchen for everything).... salt them and you can add a pinch of whatever seasonings you like.... i like chipotle powder. and then bake them about 10-15 minutes or SO, in a 375 oven. you've got to watch them, though, because they can burn in an instant.
@betterirene - i've got to try soaking the pumpkin seeds.... makes sense. haven't roasted a pumpkin as yet. you're just full of information!
pooch at 9:18AM on 09/25/09
The soaking in salt water is key to tender and seasoned "innards". Go light on the oil/butter to prevent outside from scorching, add any flavorings you like (chili powder and dehydrated lime powder is great!) and go with the 250-275 degrees for 45 minutes or so, stirring occassionaly.
Cary at 9:43AM on 09/25/09
@cary - i'm going to try it with the low heat for 45 minutes.... it may work out better.... mine are really toasted which is okay, but i bet yours have a better texture. thanks....
pooch at 9:46AM on 09/25/09
I do mine very differently, but they always seem to turn out good. I dry the pumpkin seeds. Then I heat up a pan on the stove top and melt a butter substitute, then add the seeds and four types of salt. Table, Sea, Kosher and seasoned. Then after all the seeds are coated,and slightly browned, I spread them out on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake them for 10 minutes or so at around 300-350. Let cool and enjoy.
dozertx at 10:15AM on 09/25/09
A thought just occurred - maybe I'm eating them wrong. Are they like sunflower seeds, which you are supposed to shell before eating, or do people eat them whole?
Likeswords at 12:04PM on 09/25/09
I eat the whole thing. I like the crunch. Maybe you just don't like pumkin seeds?
I also go with the low and slow method, around 300, and I rinse well but I don't usually soak them - just out of the pumpkin, into the sink, then into the oven. I add salt and any other spices while they are still wet, and a touch of oil or butter, but not more than a tablespoon for a whole pumpkin's worth of seeds. I am not sure how long to cook, I just keep checking for when they are lightly golden and crunchy.
I always experiment wtih the spices, you can even make them sweet wtih a little sugar and cinnamon.
flamingo at 2:59PM on 09/25/09
Okay, here goes, read no further if you're easily grossed out by talk of bodily functions. It is such a very big pain to eat only the kernel that we don't waste time by trying, so we eat the husk, too, which is where most of the salty taste is concentrated. If we get one that's tough or hard, we spit. Politely.
It dawned on me, when my sons were very young, that their intestinal tracts might be a little too tender for pumpkin seed roughage, so I called their pediatrician. In a nutshell, he said: it's fine, especially if they are well chewed; folk doctors recommend pumpkin seeds to patients with intestinal parasites; I'd probably never have to worry about the boys becoming constipated. So eat the whole thing, especially if you have worms or are fiber challenged.
BTW, if you're served pumpkin seeds in the presence of refined company (as if I'd ever be invited to dine with the Queen) there's supposedly a way to husk the seeds while they're in your mouth, using only teeth and tongue, no fingers. If you find a person who can do this. . .
betteirene at 5:06PM on 09/25/09
I made this visual on how to make pumpkin seeds last year. They come out great every time!
Chew on That at 6:25PM on 09/25/09
they're also good for men's prostates.... i never knew about the intestinal parasite thing. i remember as a kid eating pumpkin and sunflower seeds all of the time. they were just part of our snacks. (fruit, carrots as well)
occasionally we'd get a hostess cupcake or a devil dog.
pooch at 8:25PM on 09/25/09
I toss them with egg white, agave nectar and chinese 5 spice powder...delish!
KateRuby at 9:13PM on 09/25/09
Wow, I feel like I live under a rock or something...I've never heard of using butter or oil when toasting pumpkin seeds. I always soak them in warm, rather salty water and bake, stirring every so often.
deetroitMI at 9:58PM on 09/25/09
When the seed catalogs come out next spring keep your eye out for a pumpkin seed called Kakai. The pumpkins form seeds with no hulls. They are just the green inner seed. That's it. They are so delicious! I've grown them for several years now.
Heatherdee at 11:41PM on 09/25/09