Pepita

Pumpkin seeds just scooped from the fruit

Pumpkin seeds after shelling, roasting, and salting

Pepita (from Mexican Spanish: pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash") is a Spanish culinary term for the pumpkin seed, the edible seed of a pumpkin or other cultivar of squash (genus Cucurbita). The seeds are typically rather flat and asymmetrically oval, and light green in color and may have a white outer hull. Some cultivars are hulless, and are grown only for their seed.^[1] The seeds are nutrient-rich, with especially high content of protein, dietary fiber and numerous micronutrients. The word can refer either to the hulled kernel or unhulled whole seed, and most commonly refers to the roasted end product.

Cuisine

Pumpkin seeds are a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine and are also roasted and served as a snack.^[2] Marinated and roasted, they are an autumn seasonal snack in the United States, as well as a commercially produced and distributed packaged snack, like sunflower seeds, available year-round. Pepitas are known by their Spanish name (usually shortened), and typically salted and sometimes spiced after roasting (and today also available as a packaged product), in Mexico and other Latin American countries, in the American Southwest, and in speciality and Mexican food stores.

The earliest known evidence of the domestication of Cucurbita dates back 8,000–10,000 years ago, predating the domestication of other crops such as maize and common beans in the region by about 4,000 years. Changes in fruit shape and color indicate intentional breeding of C. pepo occurred by no later than 8,000 years ago.^[3][4] The process to develop the agricultural knowledge of crop domestication took place over 5,000–6,500 years in Mesoamerica. Squash was domesticated first, with maize second and then beans being domesticated, becoming part of the Three Sisters agricultural system.^[5][6]

As an ingredient in mole dishes, they are known in Spanish as pipián. A Mexican snack using pepitas in an artisan fashion is referred to as pepitoría. Lightly roasted, salted, unhulled pumpkin seeds are popular in Greece with the descriptive Italian name, passatempo ("pastime").

The pressed oil of the roasted seeds of a Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. 'styriaca' is also used in Central and Eastern Europe as cuisine, such as Pumpkin seed oil.^[7][8]

Nutrition

In a 100 gram serving, the seeds are calorie-dense (574 kcal) and an excellent source (20% of the Daily Value, DV, and higher) of protein, dietary fiber, niacin, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium and phosphorus (table).^[9] The seeds are a good source (10–19% DV) of riboflavin, folate, pantothenic acid, sodium and potassium (table).

Oil

The oil of pumpkin seeds, a culinary specialty in and important export commodity of Central Europe, is used in cuisine as a salad and cooking oil.

The following are ranges of fatty acid content in C. maxima pepitas^[10] (see pumpkin seed oil):

The total unsaturated fatty acid concentration ranged from 9% to 21% of the pepita.^[10] The total fat content ranged from 11% to 52%. Based on the quantity of alpha-tocopherol extracted in the oil, the vitamin E content of twelve C. maxima cultivar seeds ranged from 4 to 19 mg/100 g of pepita.^[10]

See also

• List of edible seeds
• Cucurbitacin
• Cucurbitin
• Egusi

References

Cucurbita List of gourds and squashes Species C. andreana C. argyrosperma C. californica C. cordata C. cylindrata C. digitata C. ecuadorensis C. ficifolia C. foetidissima C. fraterna C. galeottii C. gracilior C. kellyana C. lundelliana C. martinezii C. maxima C. moorei C. moschata C. okeechobeensis C. palmata C. palmeri C. pedatifolia C. pepo C. radicans C. scabridifolia C. sororia C. texana Squashes Summer squash Crookneck squash Gem squash Pattypan squash Straightneck squash Tromboncino Zucchini Winter squash Acorn squash Big Max Butternut squash Kabocha Marrow Red kuri squash Spaghetti squash Turban squash Pumpkins Giant pumpkin 1068 Wallace Prizewinner list Squash-based products Raw materials Buffalo gourd oil Pumpkin seed oil Squash blossoms Dishes Bundevara Hitlerszalonna Kabak tatlısı Mashed pumpkin Pepita Pie Soup Activities Pumpkin carving Pumpkin chucking Pumpkin queen

Mexican cuisine List of Mexican dishes Soups and stews Caldo de pollo Caldo de queso Caldo de siete mares Caldo tlalpeño Caldo Xóchitl Clemole Mancha manteles Menudo Mole de olla Sopa de nopal Pinole Pozole Tortilla soup Rice dishes Arroz blanco Arroz negro Arroz rojo Arroz poblano Arroz a la tumbada Morisqueta Egg dishes Huevos divorciados Huevos motuleños Huevos rancheros Huevos con machaca Huevos a la mexicana Vegetable dishes Ayatitos Chile relleno Chiles en nogada Chileajo de vegetales Chipotle Elote Frijoles charros Frijoles negros Frijoles Puercos Guasanas Nopal asado Pepita Rajas con crema Refried beans Romeritos Esquites Poultry dishes Arroz con pollo Chicken feet Escabeche oriental Mole poblano Pollo motuleño Tinga de pollo Pork dishes Adobada Calabacitas con puerco Carne de chango Carnitas Chicharrón en salsa Chileajo de cerdo Chilorio Chorizo Cochinita pibil Poc Chuc Beef dishes Alambre Albóndigas al chipotle Beef brain Beef tongue Bistec Cabeza Carne asada Carne seca Carne a la tampiqueña Criadillas Machaca Pachola Picadillo Salpicón Tinga de res Seafood dishes Aguachile Cahuamanta Huachinango a la Veracruzana Mojarra frita Camarones al ajillo Pescado al ajillo Pulpo a la campechana Pan de cazón Pámpano en escabeche Pescado zarandeado Other protein dishes Al pastor Barbacoa Birria Cabrito Chahuis Chapulines Discada Entomatada Escamol Jumiles Maguey worm Mixiote Moronga Pastel azteca Cheese dishes Chicharrón de queso Queso fundido/flameado Queso en salsa Queso con huazontle Queso relleno Antojitos of corn dough Corn tortilla Cazuelita Chalupa Chilaquiles Chochoyote Corunda Doblada Duros Empalme Enchilada Gordita Guajolota Huarache Infladita Molote Nachos Panucho Papadzules Peneque Piedra Polcán Quesadilla Salbute Sope o Memela Taco Tamale Taquito Tlacoyo Tlayuda Tostada Antojitos of wheat dough Wheat tortilla Burrito Cemita Empalme Enchilada Gringas Guajolota Mollete Nachos Pambazo Paste Quesadilla Sincronizada Taco Taquito Torta Sauces and condiments Adobo Chamoy Mole verde Mole blanco Mole sauce Salsa verde (spicy green sauce) Salsa roja (spicy red sauce) Recado rojo Salsa Desserts and sweets Alegría Arroz con leche Bionico Cajeta Capirotada Chongos zamoranos Cocadas Panela Qurabiya Tres leches cake Salads Caesar salad Curtido Guacamole Ensalada de nopalitos Pico de gallo Miscellaneous Chile de bola Cueritos Quiote cocido Piedrazo Mango con chile Chiles en escabeche Breads Bolillo Buñuelo Cemita Cochinito de Piloncillo Cocol Concha Pan de muerto Pan dulce Rosca de reyes Beverages Agave nectar Beer Café de olla Chamoyada Champurrado Horchata de coco Mangonada Margarita Mexican tea culture Pópo Pozol Related topics Aztec cuisine Baja Med Comal (cookware) Cuisine of Chiapas Cuisine of Veracruz Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana Oaxacan cuisine Taco stand Tex-Mex   Category   Commons   Food portal   WikiProject