by Bo del Ransi

Created on: October 05, 2010   Last Updated: October 18, 2010

What's all the hullabaloo about pumpkin seeds? Omega-rich pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of manganese, magnesium, iron and zinc and also offer some important B-vitamins - in addition to being high in fat and protein. And as a tasty snack they can also be eaten either hulled or shelled. Shelled pumpkin seeds, named pepitas, may also be eaten raw or cooked. They are said to be more nutritious raw, but the flavor of a roasted nut tends to be irresistibly delightful.

In their natural growing habitat, pumpkins terminally die following the chill of a heavy frost. Halloween is a time that betokens the Celtic New Year that began after Samhain that was observed or hosted on October 31, that further suggests an approximate date of when killing frost would be due to strike. As a prolific squash producer, pumpkins can supply seeds throughout the growing season from Spring to Fall unless drought or insect damage were to prevail.

When you bake your own pumpkin seeds, you have complete quality control from start to finish and know that there is no insect damage.

Getting Pumpkin Seeds

Preparation begins with a pumpkin.

Once you are ready with the pumpkin, the top is generally cut precisely out in a top circlet at a 45° angle in preparation for carving. Naturally optional, the opening of the pumpkin can also be performed by cleaving the winter squash into two halves, and this is a popular way of cutting winter squash. The pulp is the collection of rind-colored stringy pieces that must be culled from incumbent seed. Otherwise, use a long spoon and scrape out the insides of the squash to be carved later.

Pulp is collected with a spoon and turned out by a cup or two into a bottle that can be shaken up or into a sink basin that can be used to separate seed - and then poured into a colander.

The goal of this effort is to clean the seed to make it easy and not slimy to separate from the pulp. The seeds are then washed again in a colander or strainer, removing any residual sliminess.

Method of Preparation

What you want to do with the clean pumpkin seeds at this point is very much a matter of personal preference. Fresh seed can be squeezed out of each seed hull, especially with a little practice, if you want them hulled.

So long as these seeds are not chipped nor broken, they are still alive - and that means that they can still be germinated.

If you like to cook them with salt, they can be soaked in saltwater overnight and then drained well in a colander or

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