Pumpkin Seeds

No, this isn't some obscure programming term, I really do mean literal pumpkin seeds.

This weekend, my little brothers and I carved Jack o' Lanterns. That is to say, I carved Jack o' Lanterns.

Pumpkin carving is great, and it's the one time of the year that I feel good at art, but one of my favorite parts of the process is the pumpkin seeds you get to eat afterwards.

Every year, I roast the seeds, and every year I have to ask my mom or grandma or the internet how to roast them, because I don't remember the temperature, time, etc. from year to year. So, I'm making this blog post so I can refer back to it next year.

Let's start with those basics:

• Temp: 350 degrees
• Time: roughly 20 mins total. Go in 10 minute intervals and stir in between. Continue until they're crispy

The process is pretty simple:

• Clean out pumpkins
• Separate seeds from orange "pumpkin guts"
  • I read somewhere that rinsing the seeds/pumpkin guts in cold water makes them easier to separate, so I'll be trying that next year.
• Spread seeds in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. Salt to taste. Put it in the oven
  • I tried adding butter this year, and that helped the flavor a little bit, but I think I need to use more for it to make a difference (I used about 3 tablespoons butter for 4 pumpkins' worth of seeds this year)
• Once your seeds are about done, you can use the "broil" function at the highest temperature to really dry out the seeds and get them extra crunchy

Things to try next year:

• cold water to separate seeds
• add more butter
• boiling the seeds in salt water for a few minutes is supposed to make them crunchier and saltier (which are both important qualities of pumpkin seeds!)
• broil longer for more crunchiness!
• make sure seeds are sufficiently single-layered on sheet

Thanks for reading! I hope you find this and other articles here at ilyanaDev helpful! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ilyanaDev.