Pumpkin seed dilemma

[canesisters]

I have a pumpkin seed dilemma.
The other night I was running late to get to church and my roommate wanted to stop at the gas station because she was in need of a burrito so, as long as we were there, I grabbed a little bag of toasted, salted pumpkin seeds. They just struck me as exactly what I wanted.
Well, up in the sound booth I started up the equipment and opened up my seeds. Being a big fan of sunflower seeds, I took out one of the pumpkin seeds and popped it in my mouth so I could enjoy the salt first. Then I tried to crack it like a sunflower seed. It did not seem to have any intention of opening up. However the shell had almost immediately gotten very soft (for a shell). So I tried just chewing it up shell and all. Not an entirely satisfying experience. I went through a couple of handfuls trying to crack them open (IS there anything in there???) trying to chew them up Finally I drug the trash can over and just sucked the salt off and tossed them.
So before I try this again and possibly in front of someone the next time, How are you supposed to eat the darn things?????

 

[so lucky]

Hehe, I thought this post was going to be about the sound of crunching pumpkin seeds coming through the audio system: "Amazing Grace, crunch crunch, How crunch crunch crunch"
Personally, I don't like to eat pumpkin seeds, but I think they are supposed to be crispy crunchy, not so chewy.

 

[Smart Red]

I am not big on pumpkin seed eating myself, but my grandchildren bake pumpkin seeds every year. I have seen pumpkin varieties advertised as having shells so thin they don't need shelling. That makes me think most varieties will need shelling. Can't help other than that. I give my seeds to the chickens.

 

[catjac1975]

I buy shelled pumpkin seeds. You should be able to crack the shells with your teeth, but it is a lot of effort for very little treat. I think your first mistake was buying any food at a gas station.

 

[canesisters]

I think you're right Cat. Serves me right anyway for snacking in the sound booth...
Next time, I'll just wait in the truck while she gets her burrito fix.

Off topic a little, but have you seen that commercial where the guy buys sushi at the gas station? "Sushi good. Cheap good. Cheap sushi, not good."

 

[NwMtGardener]

Oh. Um. I seriously thought you ate the whole thing? There's a shell part? Dang! Guess i got some good fiber!! And no wonder i didnt like them either!!

 

[canesisters]

I ate the whole thing of several too! At least on a few of them. Once you chew them a while, they finally soften up - a little. But it was just too much like chewing up a sunflower seed so I gave up and just sucked the salt off. I vaguely remember Mom toasting pumpkin seeds when I was a kid and we LOVED THEM. I'm thinking that - like most things - there is a huge difference between fresh, homemade and stale, store bought.

 

[digitS']

I saw a little teevee thing recently about pumpkin seed oil. It seems that there are parts of Europe where it is an important product.

Of course, the oil is used in cooking, also, in beauty products for the skin. Would widespread use make our communities smell like pumpkin pie?



Steve