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Pumpkins, Squash & Gourds

Best winter squash for seed roasting

15 years ago

I grew pumpkins for the first time this year and am thinking of growing a second type of winter squash next year as well.

Although I love eating the flesh, I REALLY love roasting the seeds. So I'm wondering, does anyone have any recommendations for winter squash that have lots of seeds?

I tried what I could find from at the store--acorn, butternut, and kabocha. The first two had little seed volume. The kabocha, on the other hand had lots of large seeds, but they turned out a little tough and chewy. Not too bad, but not great, either.

So, I'm wondering:

--Is there a way to prepare these seeds to make them less tough and chewy? Kabocha is the type I was looking at growing next year.

--Would smaller kabocha varieties have more tender seeds?

--If not, any idea what kinds of squash (other than pumpkin) have LOTS of medium to large seeds that aren't so fiberous? I did read about buttercup having lots of good seeds. Is this true?

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Comments (5)

Macmex
15 years ago
Here's a link to Sandhill Preservation Center's squash page. Look under pumpkins and you will find a couple of naked seeded squash/pumpkins.

I can't say about Kabocha, as I haven't grown it. But these naked seeded varieties should be excellent.

George
Tahlequah, OK
elliosc
Original Author
15 years ago
Hmm.... Thought I replied to your follow-up over a week ago, but I must not have hit the "post" button.

Thanks for the info on the naked seed pumpkins. Do you know if the pumpkins themselves are also as good for eating as the the pie pumpkins? I'm thinking I'll have to give these a shot either next year or the year after. I actually eat the seeds shell-on and have never had them any other way.

I also found buttercup squash at the store. It had good seeds although being fairly dry, they were harder to get out.

I ordered most of my veggie seeds yesterday, including a buttercup and kabocha to try this year. Hopefully the kabocha will be smaller than the one I got at the store and have less fibrous shells on the seeds.
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I'd agree about the Australian blues, where I live the most common pumpkin is a very similar one to those and the flesh is dry, dense and really good flavored. I shared seed of it with someone in Washington and he says he won't use another one for pies again. The only thing is that bugs do tend to like them - with their hollow stems they seem perfectly designed for squash borers and if you have squash bugs in your area you'll want to be vigilant. Butternut and its ancestors like "Pennsylvania Dutch" with the long curved necks are really great all-purpose squash and they produce well too. One bunch that hasn't been mentioned here are the asian squash. Bungkan, Futtsu and the various types known as "Kabocha" are really delicious. I grew Futtsu last year and will not be without it again! The squash are not too big, great for a single meal, very good keepers, and ornamental too. They get sweeter after they go light orange. You can eat it raw, grill it, or fry it. Another friend cuts it up into stews. Even the leaves are beautiful, almost an ornamental. This year I'm growing Triamble, Table Queen acorn, Pennsylvania Dutch, Bungkan, Winter Keeper, Futtsu and Seminole. Triamble and Seminole are firsts; Seminole is also supposed to be really delicious, and has the extra interesting feature of being able to climb into trees. I'm growing it alongside a big apricot tree that died over the winter, in a long raised bed with rich soil. Planting the seeds at the far end, I'll let them run over the surface and root as much as possible before turning them into the tree. The fruits are supposed to be very hard, medium size, round and tan, with deep orange flesh.
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david52 Zone 6
15 years ago
I dunno if it would help, but this past year we grew a few of those genetic-monstrosity pumpkins, ours weighed in at around 140 lbs. There must be several lbs of large seeds in each one.

They were reasonably easy to separate from the stringy stuff, easy to dry and then shake the flakes off. We let them dry out a month or so, and then soak them in salted water over night, then roast them, eating the whole thing.
Macmex
15 years ago
Elliosc, the only one I can say for sure has as good a quality flesh as a pie pumpkin and semi naked seed is Baby Bear Pie Pumpkin. But it has very small fruit.

Naked seeded squash usually have fair quality, at best, flesh. I too, eat my seeds shell and all. We mainly grow Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin, which is related to Butternut squash. The seeds are small, but easy to chew. We also eat the seeds of Acorn squash. They too are small and easy to chew, shell and all.

George
elliosc
Original Author
15 years ago
david52--Were the seeds from those big pumpkins fibrous and hard to chew? I've assumed I should avoid larger squash for that reason. Does soaking them affect the texture?

macmex--Thanks for the replies. I really liked the seeds from acorn squash and butternut squash, but they had so few.... Based on what you said about the naked seed pumpkin flavor, I think I'll hold off on growing those.

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