What is Your Favorite Pumpkin Seed Recipe

The Native Americans used pumpkins for centuries, both as food and supply, and the American colonists who arrived embraced this plant of countless uses. Today, pumpkin recipes are almost as American as apple pie. In fact, the pumpkin is probably the most ubiquitous fall gourd, and the pumpkin seed the most popular garden seed. The warm pumpkin color is so reminiscent of fall. Some of the most delicious pumpkin seed recipes are the simplest. Roasting them with salt and a little oil is usually enough to bring out the natural flavor.

Pumpkins just seem to go hand in hand with Halloween and chilly harvest days. Gardeners who grow and sell pumpkins often sell foods made with pumpkin in the fall months and recipes to match, along with a serving of free seeds for visitors. Pumpkin seeds are fun and tasty to munch and a good snack for kids (be careful: very young kids may choke on seeds and nuts.)

Pumpkin Recipes Are Everywhere

You can find pumpkin recipes all over the place: on the Internet, in magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks; in boxes, cans, and packages; and of course from friends and family eager to share their unique pumpkin recipe. Seemingly hundreds of recipes and restaurant items incorporate pumpkin pulp and seeds. The seeds have a nutty flavor and the pulp is mild in taste and easy to mix into many recipes. Pumpkin blossoms can even be dipped in batter and fried. Pumpkin seed oil is used in cooking and adds a unique flavor.

Families and communities all have their own culinary use for pumpkins. The pumpkin’s practical use doesn’t end with Halloween. If you know how to compost, you can throw the rotting pumpkins in your compost piles for fertilizer and safe disposal.

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