Pumpkin Seeds – Cleaning, roasting, uses

[heidih]

I use lots of water in a giant stainless basin. I concentrate first on pulling out most of the strings out that are attached in giant squid-like globs. Then I change the water to get rid of slime, use the Chinese skimmer to get out the super clean ones, and play around with the rest. Several large pumpkins take less than ten minutes.

[LuckyGirl]

I always roast the seeds from the pumpkin we carve, but I always end up throwing most of them out later on, the initial "uhhmmm, good!" turns into indifference quickly at my house. You might not need to roast all the seeds you get?

Just an idea, if you have a big pasta pot with that strainer insert, you could probably throw the seeds in there and then hose them down with a garden hose outside? That should do it.

My house is the opposite; we never have enough pumpkin seeds. Even growing up, when my Mom would roast the seeds every year, we kids always wanted more.

I will say that the seeds we got from our jack-o-lanterns as kids were better than the seeds from the nicer eating pumpkins. The JOL seeds were thinner while the seeds from these pumpkins are thicker. I have roasted pumpkin seeds before where the seeds were so thick that they weren't that enjoyable to eat.

I think you're right that a garden hose would probably go a good job getting the fiber from the seeds but I think that's a little more trouble than I'm interested in taking. I will hope that as Chris said the remaining fiber will sort of cook off.

I don't remember my Mom's pumpkin seeds having as much fiber stuck to them as I always seem to have. I wonder if it is a case of poor memory.

[Chris Amirault]

FWIW, I don't think that the stuff is like, say, bitter hazelnut skins. After you roast it, it's pretty tasty.

[Lilija]

I do the huge pot full of water, and swooshing them around, then strain it. Most of the huge gobs separate out, but I do leave a lot in there on purpose, I like the taste of crispy salted pumpkin guts

[Fat Guy]

As the last couple of posts imply, it's not necessarily a correct assumption that getting all the gunk off the seeds is a desirable outcome. A little pumpkin goo actually helps the flavor of roasted pumpkin seeds, which sort of need all the help they can get. We roasted the seeds of two pumpkins this weekend and just used fingers to get the worst of the goo and fiber off then salted and roasted them. In my experience -- which admittedly is not vast -- if you wash them off you wash off a lot of flavor.

[mizducky]

Another vote for not being too fussy about getting every shred of pumpkin guts off the seeds before roasting. I don't bother to wash them, just rub off whatever rubs off. The remaining shreds of pumpkin guts caramelize really nicely.

Okay, I knew the craving for pumpkin seeds was already starting to build, but now y'all have just put me over the edge.

[emilyr]

Another vote for not being too fussy about getting every shred of pumpkin guts off the seeds before roasting. I don't bother to wash them, just rub off whatever rubs off. The remaining shreds of pumpkin guts caramelize really nicely.

Okay, I knew the craving for pumpkin seeds was already starting to build, but now y'all have just put me over the edge.

Me too, MizDucky! Good thing tonight's punkin' carvin' night here on the homestead!

[LuckyGirl]

Well, I took the advice and didn't worry about getting all the innards of the seeds.

The bad news is I didn't much enjoy the fat seeds from the "eating" pumpkins.

The good news is since I didn't much enjoy these seeds I don't feel compelled to bother with the rest of the seeds from my bushel of pumpkins. That would have been a lot of seeds to do.

[OliverB]

lol, I guess I should have looked back here, I have a pile of perfectly clean seed to roast right now

No matter to me, I hardly eat them and the kids won't know, pssst!

As for cleaning, I pulled them out of the pumpkin, squeezed the seeds off the gunk and dropped them in a large pot with water. Later on I swooshed this around and strained it, but there were still large pieces. But I had noticed that the seeds float and most of the gunk doesn't! So, back in the pot with lots of water, large slotted spoon to skim them out, and done. Quick and easy. Just in case someone wants clean seeds.

I tend to put some spicy mix on the ones I eat, anything from Old Bay over Essence of Emeril to some bbq rub.

My boy (6) designed a pumpkin with 5 eyes, two teethed mouths and scars

Happy Halloween!

[andiesenji]

I've been following this recipe and trying to find a couple of recipes that at one time were my standards for using up the pumpkin seeds after a marathon bout of canning and candying pumpkin (like the Mexican candy).

So far no luck but I did come across this: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/b/2008/11/07/yer-outta-here-john-mccain-gets-a-pumpkin.htm

and thought it sounded like something I would like.

One of the old recipes I always prepared when my kids were still at home included ground roasted pumpkin seeds mixed into the pumpkin pulp, which thickens it nicely, adds flavor and gives a lovely texture when made into empanadas. I am pretty sure I got that recipe from one of my Mexican neighbors and it had to have been thirty years ago.

I used the same filling, although with less sweetening and with different herbs, to make ravioli and my kids loved this dish that was served with a white cheese sauce (no tomato).

I am also an advocate of not cleaning the seeds all that carefully. As noted above the stuff becomes very brittle with roasting.

[heidih]

I am getting ready to carve the pumpkins and just reviewed the ideas above. This year I have an oven that is actually calibrated and displays the temp accurately - quite a pleasant change. Since I have no idea what temp I was actually roasting on when I set them for 350 in the past, I will do several small batches at various temps. I am thinking about trying some with cumin and some with Japanese curry powder and will report back.

Any new, out of the box, preparations attempted this season?

[David A. Goldfarb]

They're a nice garnish on pumpkin soup.

[heidih]

The pumpkins today were home grown and on the small side. The seeds slid away effortlessly from the minimal strings that were present. I decided to try them without any washing or rinsing at all. I stirred some recently made roasted garlic oil from the fridge into the bowl, spread them on a parchment lined sheet pan, sprinkled liberally with salt, and baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Hands down the tastiest seeds I have ever done, and I have been doing them for many many years. I think the bit of slime on them helped the oil and salt to cling.

[heidih]

I did a repeat this year with a huge pumpkin that was used as a display at work. It was a bit dry inside but still tasty. Taking them to work tomorrow to show them what can be done with these guys. Anybody do a different take on the seeds this year or employ a "keeper" method?

[Kerry Beal]

Made a batch last night. Rug rat brought home a decorated pie pumpkin from school - stripped the decorations, baked the halves, added a bit of olive oil and salt to the seeds and baked until they were nice and brown. I'll be munching them at work this evening.

[Baselerd]

I wonder if a pressure cooker could make pumpkin seed shells more tender, similar to the pressure-cooked mustard and sesame seeds that are so popular nowadays.

[Alex Parker]

Roast them out, crush them. Add pepper, Salt, and some Thyme. Use as a crust for a meat or something, and then serve with a pumpkin reduction.

Alex

[heidih]

I am currently in major seed roasting mode concurrent with my winter squash play. The attached image is of seeds from a gifted Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin and a buttercup. They are different from one another and the perfect snack to keep on the counter. I want to taste the seed rather than a coating spice so I have arrived at the ideal method for me:  rinse lightly if lots of guts attached (though they add flavor as Steven mentioned earlier- just don't want them to burn before seeds done). Then I soak them for about half an hour in very salty water, drain, let dry a bit, and roast at 375 till done. Like nuts they continue to cook after removed from oven so take care. 

Edited November 17, 2017 by heidih (log)

[TicTac]

I like eating the shells, so we add some olive oil when roasting, comes out a bit less brown than pic #2 - excellent (and healthy) snack.

[heidih]

Oh I munch the whole thing - the hull is not thick. These seeds were almost blue looking (!) when raw so they look perhsp deceptively overdone

[TicTac]

I found that the pumpkin seeds this year the hulls were especially thin, which I enjoy - interestingly enough the various squash seeds I roasted were much thicker.

[heidih]

I guess we skipped over the Halloween pumpkin debris this year. I think  one should note that pepitas are NOT shelled pumpkin seed. They are so trendy now. They are hull-less variety. I did not do a Jack-O-Lantern but will "harrvest" seeds when I roast winter squash soon. Anyone?

[BeeZee]

I like roasting the seeds from delicata squash. Have to grab some, they only appear in my area stores before Thanksgiving.

[heidih]

Oh yes I like the delicata ones. Trader Joes is my best source. They tend to be younger than the grocery selection.