Okay, I was a little sneaky today, by using this title. "Pepitas" are something I've already discussed on this blog--pumpkin seeds. Yup, even though the Halloween and Thanksgiving seasons are long over, I want one more crack at pumpkins. My previous foray into pumpkin seeds was marred by the misdeeds of the company that made them (see my post on November 4, 2023). So, therefore, I wanted to try pumpkin seeds with a clearer conscience. Today's pepitas came from Paramount Foods, out of NJ. The seeds themselves were grown in Mexico and China, hence the title.
"Pepita" means "little seed of squash" in the Mexican dialect of Spanish. And, if you're not aware (I wasn't), squash, gourds, and pumpkins are all closely related, so much so that they're essentially subvariants of each other, and not separate species. As it turns out, pumpkin seeds usually have white outer husks, which some folks eat, and others don't. Some farmers have even bred subspecies of pumpkins that don't form the husks, which must save considerable time and effort of de-husking. Also, speaking of breeding, pumpkins/gourds/squashes were all domesticated very long ago, between 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. Or at least 4,000 years before corn (maize) and beans were. This was done in Mesoamerica, or, essentially, the region comprising southern Mexico and most of Central America. Although, currently pumpkins and their kin are grown around the world, including, obviously, in China. Additionally, pumpkin seeds are very nutritious. They contain large amounts of protein, fiber, fat, niacin, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese. And they have moderate amounts of riboflavin, sodium, potassium, folate, pantothenic acid, and various fatty acids. They can be eaten in various ways, too. Many people eat them raw, or else roasted and salted, as a snack. Others use the seeds as ingredients in sauces or salsas. Or, some folks press out the oil, and then utilize this on salads, or as a cooking oil. They can also be made into a seed butter, or as a flavoring for booze.
Since I just talked about the Paramount Foods company fairly recently, I won't repeat myself here. So if you're curious, you can read more about the business in my post on August 12, 2023.
Paramount Foods pepitas, roasted and salted: These were an olive green color, indicating that they'd had their white husk removed. They were crunchy, and slightly salty. A tiny bit oily, too. Kind of reminiscent of sunflower seeds. Initially I thought they were kind of bland, but then they grew on me. Now I rather like them, and have bought more than just the initial bag. Also, it escaped me before, in my earlier samples, but I clearly prefer my pumpkin seeds to be shelled, to have the white husk removed. Therefore, I would recommend these. They're not awesome or anything, but they're decent. And probably healthier than a lot of snacks.
One final tidbit about pumpkin seeds/pepitas, that's kind of both interesting and disgusting. Before better, more effective medical substances were developed, eating pepitas could help expel tapeworms. So that was a win-win, huh? You could crunch up a nice snack, and then rid your intestines of invasive worms, all at the same time!
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