Guest guest Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi there everyone, I am really appreciating all the recipes and great advice on this group. I am a mum to 4 living in Brisbane Australia and a dedicated lurker here! My question today is, well I have a couple actually... 1. Can all variety of pumpkin seeds be eaten? (Are some nicer than others?) 2. How would you prepare them eg. dry bake in oven? I just baked some for about an hour in a slow oven, they dried out ok, but didn't seem as good as the ones I've bought before already dried and ready to eat. We have always thrown out the seeds in the past, but I would like to use them as a snack... Thank you Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Kylie, I haven't tried this yet but I'm thinking that boiling the seeds in salted water first before baking might work better than just baking. I too have tried baking the raw seeds and they just do not taste like store bought pumpkin seeds and they are too dry and hard to remove the shell. Pumpkins won't be available here until Fall and I will try it then. If you try boiling and it works let me know. Deanna in Colorado ********************************************************************** , " Kylie " <kkyles wrote: >How would you prepare them eg. dry bake in oven? I just baked some > for about an hour in a slow oven, they dried out ok, but didn't seem > as good as the ones I've bought before already dried and ready to eat. > We have always thrown out the seeds in the past, but I would like to > use them as a snack... Thank you > > Kylie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Hi Kylie, Pumpkin seed treats are especially popular at my home here in the USA around Halloween, when pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns. It's a real shame to waste the seeds! By the way, squash seeds will also work similarly. I'm told that buttercup squash seeds don't turn out well due to their thick skins, but I haven't had bad results with any kind of pumpkin seeds I've tried.....yet. There seems to be two schools of pumpkin seed driers. The first is the seed washers, and the second just puts the seeds unwashed onto a cookie sheet or something similar for drying. I've tried both ways, and it seems to me the main thing that is important is to only have a single layer of seeds drying, the details are up to you. How long to dry? Depends. Usually 20 to 40 minutes at 300 degrees (F) works for me. I stir the seeds about every 10 minutes. A lower temperature oven (250*) will work too, but takes longer. Sometimes it's fine to just dry them as they are, but other ways to do it include tossing them with a little olive oil and salt, or tossing with tamari (soy sauce). And some of us vegetarians love them dried with (gasp, horrors) steak sauce! Other flavorings that are possible seem endless. Here's one called " Essence " , it's from a (non-veg.) New Orleans Chef " Emeril " and is a Creole seasoning. It's good on other veggies too, if you don't mind things a little hot. Of course any of the individual ingredients can be left out, or used separately. ) 2 1/2 T (tablespoons) paprika 2T salt 2T garlic powder 1 T black pepper 1 T onion powder 1 T cayenne pepper 1 T dried leaf Oregano 1 T dried thyme. By the way, after drying, pumpkin seeds seem to stay fresh for a couple of weeks at room temperature when stored in an airtight jar. Happy snacking! Best, Don L. " Kylie " <kkyles wrote: > > Hi there everyone, I am really appreciating all the recipes and great > advice on this group. > I am a mum to 4 living in Brisbane Australia and a dedicated lurker here! > > My question today is, well I have a couple actually... > > 1. Can all variety of pumpkin seeds be eaten? (Are some nicer than > others?) > > 2. How would you prepare them eg. dry bake in oven? I just baked some > for about an hour in a slow oven, they dried out ok, but didn't seem > as good as the ones I've bought before already dried and ready to eat. > We have always thrown out the seeds in the past, but I would like to > use them as a snack... Thank you > > Kylie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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