Pumpkin seeds are a healthy and, most importantly, accessible superfood. But before you start drying them, you need to prepare the product.
Here’s what you need to do to ensure that the seeds are not too soft or too hard, but perfect in every way.
First of all, the pumpkin should be washed under running water, then cut in half and the pulp with the seeds removed.
The seeds need to be separated from the fibers. The easiest way to do this is to mix the pulp with 1 tablespoon of flour and then rinse. The flour will 'glue' the fibers together, and the seeds will easily separate.
Next, it is important to sort through the seeds. Remove anything that looks suspicious. There may be seeds that are too flat, rotten, dry, or otherwise spoiled. What passes the inspection and remains should be transferred to a colander and rinsed under water.
The clean seeds should go through a preliminary drying stage. For this, spread them out on a cotton cloth, a large plate, or a tray and leave them to dry for 30–40 minutes. Only after this can you proceed to thorough drying in a special device, microwave, oven, or outdoors. This way, the pumpkin seeds will turn out crispy but not hard.
