Naked Seeded Pumpkins

[gdaddybill]

I planted three varieties this spring attempting to grow them on an old gate that we put up on one side of the garden. I managed to get some of them on the gate and then they grew into the St Augustine grass (at least it kept them off the soil as they tend to rot quickly). The elongated one is Beppo F1. The small one is Naked Bear F1 (these two were from Terratorial). The chunky one with green stripes is Pepitas Hybrid AAS (Parks).

Yesterday I decided to try and dry, then roast some so I picked the smallest one-Naked Bear. It pays to cut to one side of the stem and try to just go through the fleshy portion. Otherwise you slice a bunch of seeds in half. They were scooped out with a spoon and moved to a colander in the sink where we washed and removed as much of the orange stingy tissue as possible. Then we spread them out on cookie sheet with a paper towel to soak up some of the moisture. My wife thinks we may try parchment paper next time. We gave them another cleaning and left them on the cabinet to dry. They got an occasional stirring and a clean paper towel but it took all day for them to dry.

Just before bedtime we cranked the oven up to 350 degrees, put the seeds in a bowl, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and then put them on a cookie sheet in the oven. The instructions we found on line indicated it could take 15 to 25 minutes to toast (brown) them and that they should be taken out of the oven every 10 minutes to stir and check for browning.

We left them out after 20 minutes oven time but they likely could have stood the other 5 minutes. After they cooled we put them in a closed plastic container to keep them dry. They're good! A bit puffier than the ones we get in our favorite granola but still tasty. I'll try some Cajun season salt next time but it was a worthwhile project. Some may get cinnamon and a sprinkling of sugar for a cereal/desert topping.

[oakley]

Jealous. I will not get harvest until Sept. I grow Kakai from Johnny's.

I use a lower heat to dehydrate/toast. 175-200. Slow roast and less likely to over do it.
*olive oil, sea salt, hot pepper spice blend.

I make my own granola so it is the way we like it, more savory, less sweet. Just
dehydrated 20 lbs of Rhubarb. Now most is in the freezer for Fall granola making.
Had to purchase pipitas for the last batch. I put them in so many things, chicken salad,
dressings, garnish soups....

I'm growing a dozen plants this year but should try some new varieties.
I'll note your success. (we should all save seeds!)

[gdaddybill]

Thanks for the information. We noticed some popping toward the end of the toasting at 350. I've got more to experiment with so I'll try the slow roast next.

[gdaddybill]

I used a small handsaw (Japanese like but from Harbor Freight) to cut open the most recent pumpkin, being careful not to saw through the middle and cut seeds. It worked quite well and was less dangerous than a machete.

[Zeedman]

Believe it or not, the safest way to harvest the naked seed without damage is... just throw the pumpkin against the ground until it breaks open. That is assuming that you don't want the flesh; the varieties I tried had flesh of such poor quality that it was not worth saving.

[mjc]

Originally Posted by Zeedman

Believe it or not, the safest way to harvest the naked seed without damage is... just throw the pumpkin against the ground until it breaks open. That is assuming that you don't want the flesh; the varieties I tried had flesh of such poor quality that it was not worth saving.

Generally, I break them, scrape the seeds then feed the rest to my chickens. When we had hogs, they'd get some too...they didn't care about the quality of the pumpkin. They ate it anyway.

[gdaddybill]

Originally Posted by Zeedman

Believe it or not, the safest way to harvest the naked seed without damage is... just throw the pumpkin against the ground until it breaks open. That is assuming that you don't want the flesh; the varieties I tried had flesh of such poor quality that it was not worth saving.

I can vent some frustration about the EB and spider mite infestations at the same time!

[gdaddybill]

Worked like a charm. Thanks Zeedman! American ingenuity at work.

[oakley]

Good method. I'll remember that.

Kakai has a white somewhat grainy flesh. Yet one no to waste i did slow roast in the
oven, cut into cubes, with lots of whole garlic bulbs and onion, a hot pepper...then
pureed in a high speed blender. Froze in 1/2 pints. Very nice addition to soups and
chowders all winter.
On its own i would pass...and feed to farm animals if i had them.

Still prefer to use my harvest someway or another.

[gdaddybill]

Tried tossing the Beppo pumpkin and it was difficult to bust. After multiple slams to the pavestone seeds started coming out so I went back to the saw to finish it off. Every variety is likely different.