How to dry pumpkin seeds at home

Pumpkin seeds resemble childhood, they have an incredible taste and a peculiar texture. According to its characteristics, the product helps to hold hands no worse than everyone’s favorite sunflower seeds, and there is much more benefit in them. A positive characteristic of the product is its high iron content, which prevents the risk of heart disease and the circulatory system as a whole. Consider the popular methods of drying pumpkin seeds and highlight important aspects.

Important Features

1. First of all, it is worth clarifying that the seeds are located in the pulp of a pumpkin. To carry out the correct drying procedure, they must be removed.
2. You can easily separate the pulp from the seeds, most importantly, do not damage their structure. Otherwise, the product is not suitable for drying, regardless of the method chosen.
3. Pay attention to how you will cut the fruit. Choose a sharp knife with a thin blade, so as not to accidentally damage most of the seeds.
4. Going through the seeds, pay attention to their color and structure. Fruits ready for drying are denser, whitish in tone. Another option involves the use of unripe seeds.
5. Before cutting the pumpkin, inspect the fruit from all sides. On the surface there should not be foreign inclusions, similar to ulcers or damage by insects.

Preparing pumpkin seeds for drying

1. After examining the fetus, you can proceed to the direct processing of pumpkins. Cut off the top so that the flesh is clearly visible. You will notice that it is closely interwoven with the seeds themselves. At this stage, you need to carefully disconnect the grains from the fibers, being careful not to damage the seeds.
2. You can remove the insides with a tablespoon or perform the procedure with your hands. The main thing is not to deform the seeds, otherwise they will crack and dry out very much during heat treatment. Such a product should not be eaten.
3. After you remove the seeds from the pumpkin, place them in a colander and start flushing. Direct a powerful stream of cool water, start raising grains with your hands.
4. At first they will be viscous, slippery. After 3-4 washings, the seeds will cease to slide between the fingers, this will be evidence of their readiness for further manipulations.
5. Now you need to take two paper towels and wrap the seeds in them, collecting excess moisture. Gently push your hands on the product, try not to deform it.
6. As soon as the liquid drains, take a tray or kitchen board, put the seeds in one row and leave in the sun. The exposure time in this case varies within 2-3 hours, until the moisture partially evaporates from the structure.

How to Dry Pumpkin Seeds Naturally

1. The main thing that you must possess when drying seeds in this way is free time. It is also advisable to carry out the procedure in hot sunny weather to prevent the possibility of mold.
2. After separating the seeds from the pulp, they must be washed and salted. Pour boiling water into a deep bowl, pour in fine salt at the rate of 10 g. 70 ml product. water. Place the seeds in the solution, wait 10-20 hours. This step can be skipped if you want to get a fresh final product with the original taste.
3. At the end of time, remove the seeds from the brine, rinse them once under running water, and proceed to drying.Cover the horizontal surface with baking foil or paper towels, put the seeds in a row, leave for 2-3 days under the sun.
4. The shell will tell you about the readiness of the product. Finally dried seeds are harder, brittle, easily crack. Try the grains “on the tooth”, if the result was insufficient, increase the drying by another day.

How to dry pumpkin seeds in a pan

1. A peculiarity of preparing seeds in a similar way is considered to be that the process itself resembles frying with the addition of spices. Thanks to this, the final product is more crispy, spicy.
2. After washing and pre-drying the seeds, cover them with salt. Pour a little olive or corn oil into a bowl, add the seeds and mix with a spoon. When each seed is soaked in liquid, add black pepper (ground), dried dill, or garlic.
3. If you wish, you can replace natural butter with butter, having previously melted it. In this case, make the seeds sweet by seasoning them with cinnamon, icing sugar or nutmeg.
4. After rubbing the seeds with spices, heat the pan to the maximum mark, pour a spoonful of olive / corn / butter (it all depends on what product was used for “pickling”).
5. Send the seeds to the red-hot oil, make sure that they are laid out in 1 row. Reduce the heat to a minimum, fry about 20-25 minutes, do not cover the pan with a lid.
6. Stir the seeds constantly with a wooden spatula so that they do not burn. The golden shell will tell you about the readiness of the product. After frying, put the seeds on a paper towel, let them cool to room temperature.

How to dry pumpkin seeds in the oven

There are 2 ways to dry the seeds in the oven, consider each of them in more detail.

Method number 1
Turn on the device in the "Frying" mode, in which only the top wall heats up. Heat the oven to a temperature of 140-150 degrees.

Put the pre-washed seeds in a row on a baking sheet covered with pastry paper or foil. Send the container to the cabinet, maintain the indicated temperature.

As a rule, drying takes about 10-15 minutes, but it all depends on the power and other technical characteristics of the device. For this reason, it is recommended to constantly monitor the readiness of the composition by opening and closing the door.

When you see that the surface of the seeds has acquired a brownish tint, remove the pan from the oven, stir the seeds. Turn off the heat, send the product to a heated appliance for another 15 minutes.

After drying, sprinkle the seeds with fine salt, leave to cool at room temperature. Add grains to salad or consume as a standalone product.

Method number 2
This method is suitable for those whose oven warms up evenly (there is no plan adjustment mode). Preheat the appliance to 200 degrees, line the baking sheet with foil or baking paper, put the salted seeds in one layer.

Send the baking sheet into the heated cavity, reduce the heat to a minimum, dry the seeds for about 30-35 minutes. Stir the composition every 7-10 minutes so that it acquires a brown tint evenly.

After the expiration of the time, turn off the oven, check the seeds: if they are not hard enough, do not remove the grains, leave them in the cavity of the device for another 15 minutes. After this, cool and proceed with tasting.

How to dry pumpkin seeds in the microwave

Experienced housewives use this recipe in addition to the natural version of drying. That is, if the street is damp or the procedure is carried out in cloudy weather, a microwave oven will help to bring the composition to readiness. Consider the technology step by step.

1. After washing the seeds, place them on a baking sheet covered with paper towels or towels.Leave on for several days to allow excess moisture to evaporate.
2. After that, take out a glass rotating plate from the microwave, line it with paper towels, updating the substrate.
3. Place the pumpkin seeds in an even layer over the entire surface, put the plate in the microwave, turn on at medium power. Set the interval of about 2 minutes, wait for the timer to ring.
4. At the end of the specified period, mix the grains, re-place them in one row and send in the microwave. Turn on the device for 2 minutes, but reduce the power from maximum to medium.
5. Next, repeat the previous manipulations, mixing the seeds. Depending on the initial result, you can again dry them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or leave them to cool.
6. Correctly dried product will become hard, darkish. You just have to peel the seeds from the shell, after which you can eat as a snack or addition to salads, main dishes.

How to store dried pumpkin seeds

1. The shelf life of dried pumpkin seeds is quite short, usually it does not exceed the mark of 7-10 days. After this period, the product begins to "damp", ceases to crunch and loses its former aftertaste.
2. Only dried seeds without moisture residues are allowed to be stored; otherwise, mold cannot be avoided. Cooked in a pan and in the oven ("Frying" mode) seeds are immediately consumed, they can not be left for long storage.
3. A handmade cotton bag is used as a vessel. It can be replaced with gauze cloth folded in several layers. Hang the bag on a rope or wire in a dry room with good air circulation.
4. You can also place the seeds in a plastic container or glass jar with a hermetically sealed lid. The main condition is the complete absence of moisture.

It is easy to dry pumpkin seeds if you have sufficient knowledge regarding the available technologies. Use a cooking recipe using an oven or microwave, fry the seeds in a pan, or bring to a natural readiness.

Video: pumpkin seeds in the oven