Pumpkin picking tips

With the cool fall weather and the abundance of pumpkins beginning to appear, I find myself thinking about buying pumpkins.  I can always decorate the table or my front porch with the variety of colors and sizes that can be found but a quick research on the subject yielded some surprising results on the culinary and carving side.   

 Ron Wolford, a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator based in Chicago offers these tips for picking the perfect pumpkin:

Choose a pumpkin with a stem and never carry it by the stem. Pumpkins without a stem will not last long.

Select a pumpkin with a flat bottom, so it will stand upright.

Avoid pumpkins with holes, cuts or soft spots. These areas will rot.

Light colored pumpkins are easier to carve because the skin is not as hard as darker orange colored ones, but they will not keep as well.

Wash the pumpkin with warm water and let it dry before carving.

To make the pumpkin last longer, keep it in a cool place until ready to carve. After carving, coat the cuts with petroleum jelly.

Now the question is – what to do with all the seeds?  Drying and roasting pumpkin seeds are two different processes.  Pumpkin seeds may be dried or boiled before roasting—or roasted fresh.

Drying - carefully wash pumpkin seeds to remove the clinging fibrous pumpkin tissue. Pumpkin seeds can be dried in the sun for 6 hours or longer, in a dehydrator at 115 to 120 degrees F for 1 to 2 hours, or in an oven on warm for 3 to 4 hours. Stir them frequently to avoid scorching. 

Roasting - toss dried pumpkin seeds and with a little oil and or salt (if preferred)  and roast in a preheated oven at 250 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes.

Boiling and roasting - In a saucepan bring salted water (2 tablespoons salt to 1 quart water) to a boil.  Add rinsed seeds and boil 30 minutes. Drain seeds and dry them on absorbent paper.  Place seeds on shallow pan.  Roast in a 300 degree oven for 30 or 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Stir every 10 minutes.

Roasting in microwave - Pat 1 cup rinsed pumpkin seeds dry with a paper towel.  Place 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave safe dish.  Melt on high 30 seconds.  Spread seeds in a single layer in dish and microwave on high 7 to 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt or other seasonings such as garlic powder, curry powder or Cajun seasoning.

De-hulling seeds - Hulls are edible, but can be tough to chew.  They can be removed from the seeds after boiling, drying or roasting.  Hulls will slip off after seeds have been boiled or may be cracked and separated from the seed after drying or roasting.  It is a time-consuming process. Hull-less seed varieties do not have a thick hull.

Toasting Hulled Seeds - Heat skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the seeds.  Move the skillet back and forth over the heat or stir constantly.  When the seeds begin to pop and have a nutty aroma, they are ready. Salt and enjoy.

Pumpkins are members of the vine crops family called cucurbits.  This includes gourds and squash such as acorn, scallop, crookneck, and zucchini.  For those who garden and grow their own cucurbits, you may be surprised to learn the flowers are edible.  A Texas AgriLife Extension Service Horticulture Update (January 2008) newsletter article by Cathey Wilkinson Barash, National Garden Bureau, offers the following insight:

“Squash blossoms have a mild vegetable flavor—similar to zucchini or yellow squash. . . Traditional in Mediterranean cuisine, squash blossoms are usually stuffed with flavored breadcrumbs or ricotta cheese and sautéed or fried.  . . . As far as zucchini are concerned, they seem to grow from small tasty fruits to baseball bats overnight; you can never keep up with them.  Eating the flowers is sort of like birth control for the plants—the more flowers you eat, the less zucchini you have to deal with.”

Use caution when eating blossoms as some people may experience an allergic reaction to the pollen.

Whatever your plans with the abundance of pumpkins this fall, enjoy the bounty and try roasting seeds.  The seeds are rich in minerals, calories and protein.  They are a concentrated source of iron, zinc and magnesium and contain omega 6 and omega 3 fats.  They are also high in fiber.

Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating: The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.