Any one else enjoy toasted pumpkin seeds?

I just wanted to share a new technique I discovered to roast pumpkin seeds. This is the time of year, when my brother whom grows a huge garden always has an abundance of pumpkins and other goodies that he shares with me and eating pumpkins is one of them.

I clean them and save the seeds and then roast off the pumpkin and make my own pumpkin puree, but the real treat is the pumpkin seeds!

Anyhow, I usually just rinse and dry the seeds, add some olive oil and seasoning and then toast them in the oven.

The new thing I tried was put your seeds in a pot of water with some salt and bring them to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium low for ten minutes. Drain them and pat them dry.

Now all you need to do is add whatever seasoning that suits your tastes and toast them in the oven. The boiling process makes the outer shell of the seed much more brittle and easier to chew!

There are many recipes on the internet on how to toast them and most of them call for the oven to be at 350 and to toast them for 30 minutes. I highly disagree with 350 degrees. Most likely they will be burnt after 30 minutes! I go 275 for 30 minutes and stir them after 15 minutes.....

Oh well, just wanted to share a tip for those of you whom like to cook!

reply to post by seeker1963


So boil them first? Because the shells are the things I have the most trouble with. I can't ever seem to figure out how get them crispy enough to not stick in my throat going down.

reply to post by seeker1963


Thanks for the boiling tip because even after I roast them I like to eat the outer husk too and this will make them an even more enjoyable treat.

reply to post by ketsuko


I don't have any bottom molars and eating al dente pasta is a challenge! lol

But yes, boil them first as I described and the toasting process seems to crisp them up so that they break up very easy during the chewing process.

My wife does that after halloween when they are selling pumpkins real cheap. She freezes some pumpkin for pies and roasts the seeds.

That sounds like good info, I'll have to tell her about it.

reply to post by rickymouse

My wife does that after halloween when they are selling pumpkins real cheap. She freezes some pumpkin for pies and roasts the seeds.

That sounds like good info, I'll have to tell her about it.

Just make sure your wife reduces the temperature and keeps a close eye on them Rickymouse!

I burnt my first batch. (although they still taste pretty damn good with a cold beer) But I think the boiling process demands a lower temp as I already stated.

I just want all who read this to be aware of that.

Thanks for this, I always wait till after Halloween to buy pumpkins to freeze them for the later and colder winter months for beans and soups, but the pain in the butt was the seeds, and what to do, or at least how not to crack my teeth trying to bit them.

I will be doing this soon

S&F

Peace, NRE.

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Anyone can feel free to U2U me if you have any questions!!!

I truly enjoy sharing cooking techniques MUCH MORE than I enjoy arguing over politics! It is a passion of mine, and I really enjoy sharing with others how to take the bounty of the land, doing a little work, and appreciating what you were able to do with your time and work, versus buying something already made for you at the grocery store!

reply to post by seeker1963


Welllll... since you offered, maybe you can add a few recipes for some of the seasonings that you use.

I personally prefer sweet & salty

Peace, NRE.

NoRegretsEver
reply to post by seeker1963

 

Welllll... since you offered, maybe you can add a few recipes for some of the seasonings that you use.

I personally prefer sweet & salty

Peace, NRE.

Here's a video showing how to roast the seeds, for those that have never done it before...but do boil them first as suggested by the OP.

reply to post by InTheLight


Thanks for adding that video!!!!!!!

Star for thinking of it! Thank you!

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


Okay Noregrets.

Sweet and salty aye.

How about sugar and cinnamon with a sprinkle of sea salt?

For two cups of seeds you should need no more than:

2 Tablespoons of sugar. I prefer raw cane sugar put into a blender to break it down a little....

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

and sea salt to taste.


Now here is my favorite spicy recipe

1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon of raw cane sugar, (again, ground up to a finer consistency)

For both of these, I use 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil to coat before adding the seasonings.

Enjoy, and use your imagination!

seeker1963
reply to post by InTheLight

 

Thanks for adding that video!!!!!!!

Star for thinking of it! Thank you!

You know, the older I get the more I see that the younger generation (perhaps due to electronics) don't know how to do alot of things.

seeker1963
reply to post by NoRegretsEver

 

Okay Noregrets.

Sweet and salty aye.

How about sugar and cinnamon with a sprinkle of sea salt?

For two cups of seeds you should need no more than:

2 Tablespoons of sugar. I prefer raw cane sugar put into a blender to break it down a little....

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

and sea salt to taste.


Now here is my favorite spicy recipe

1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon of raw cane sugar, (again, ground up to a finer consistency)

For both of these, I use 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil to coat before adding the seasonings.

Enjoy, and use your imagination!

edit on 31-10-2013 by seeker1963 because: (no reason given)

Is that like a BBQ version?

reply to post by InTheLight


No, it is not BBQ, it is spicy hot! I do know that some spice companies sell BBQ spices. I am assuming you are meaning BBQ, like perhaps Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce or others??? I might be misunderstanding your question, so feel free to correct me if I am....

seeker1963
reply to post by InTheLight

 

No, it is not BBQ, it is spicy hot! I do know that some spice companies sell BBQ spices. I am assuming you are meaning BBQ, like perhaps Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce or others??? I might be misunderstanding your question, so feel free to correct me if I am....

My bad, I should know better with the ingredients.

Thanks for sharing. I will try tonight. I love Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. I have been eating them since I can remember. But I have never tried your way.. I will, now, though. Happy Halloween! S&F

FYI animal lovers. I chop them up raw for my dogs because they kill worms and heart worms. Add 1/4 tsp for small dog and 1 tsp for large dog to food.

Thanks for the tips. Until now I had always broiled them after sprinkling garlic salt on them. Yum.

As a thread contribution I found a few interesting things in the link below.
13 health benefits of pumpkin seeds

I always roast pumpkins seeds after making stuffed pumpkin.
For my stuffed pumpkin I use pumpkin, hamburger, onion, rice, salt, nutmeg and clove.

For my seeds I just like them lightly salted. YUM