Pumpkin Seed Nutrition
One of the reasons roasting pumpkin seeds is a good idea is because they are full of nutrients we need to live a healthy life. Pumpkins and pumpkin seeds are very rich in magnesium, which decreases your chances of developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions which have been shown to cause stroke, diabetes and heart attacks. If you ate one-fourth of a cup of pumpkin seeds you would ingest 300 milligrams of magnesium, which is 95% of the USDA recommended daily amount.
Today, everywhere you look for the elements of a healthy diet, you find mention of antioxidants, and how helpful they have proven to be in the reduction of certain kinds of cancer. The beta-carotene in pumpkin seeds, for example, is changed into vitamin A in our bodies. There are also goodly amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, calcium and niacin.
There is no lack of B vitamins either in pumpkins and pumpkin seeds. There are in fact, five B vitamins in pumpkin seeds. As mentioned, niacin is an important nutrient and pumpkin seeds have 41% of the amount our bodies need. In addition, pumpkins seeds have 11% of our daily requirement for vitamin B1, 4% of vitamin B6, 16% of vitamin B2, and 8% of folic acid.
If you still are not convinced of the nutritional value of pumpkin seeds, consider this: pumpkin seeds have 19 grams of protein per ¼ cup. That is 39% of the protein humans need to consume daily. Pumpkins seeds also have what are considered to be the “good” fats--¼ cup has 7.4 grams of monounsaturated fat and 10.9 grams of polyunsaturated fats, which are omega 6 fatty acids.
That small quarter cup of pumpkin seeds has 8.5 ml of iron and two grams of insoluble fiber. Total calories are 296. These figures can grow as can sugar and fat content when you mix pumpkin seeds with other foods, such as nuts and dried fruits. These variations still make excellent snacks as long as you keep your eye on the number of calories you are consuming.
Harvesting Pumpkins
In order to begin the process of roasting pumpkin seeds, it is necessary to harvest your pumpkins at the right time or buy ones which have been harvested when they were ripe. Pumpkins can be either cut from the vine or left to lay on the ground while the vines die. If you have a lot of pumpkins, you may rush to get the first ones picked to eat, and leave the rest for winter storage.
The oldest method of telling if a pumpkin is ripe is to test it with your fingernail. If your fingernail cannot easily penetrate the skin, the pumpkin is ripe. The surface of ripe pumpkins is very hard. The stem will also start to crack when the pumpkin is ready to pick. After removing from the vine, let your pumpkins sit for ten days outside to cure them for storage. If you have a nice place where the pumpkin can be kept at fifty or sixty degrees, your harvest could last up to six months, meaning you can eat pumpkins all winter.
Pumpkins that are going to be eaten immediately do not need to go through the curing process. And, although pumpkins can withstand mild frosts, it is necessary to bring them in or cover them before a severe, killing frost.
Pumpkin Storage
With the proper storage of pumpkins, you can be roasting pumpkins seeds for two or three months. Pumpkins should be placed on wooden pallets for storage. They should not be able to touch one another and they need to have air circulation all around. That means setting them on a dirt of concrete floor will cause them to rot.
The best temperature at which to store pumpkins is in the low 50s. They also need a certain amount of humidity, preferably in the 50 to 70 degree range. You should check your stored pumpkins regularly so that you can remove any that are rotting. If you don’t, the rot will spread to the others. Never store pumpkins near apples as the apples give off ethylene gas will speeds the ripening of pumpkins and will cause them to spoil. Winter squash, such as acorn or hubbard can be stored in the same way as pumpkins.