A pumpkin seed, also known as a pepita (from the Mexican Spanish: pepita de calabaza, 'little seed of squash'), is the edible seed of a pumpkin or certain other cultivars of squash. The seeds are typically flat and oval with one axis of symmetry, have a white outer husk, and are light green in color after the husk is removed. Some pumpkin cultivars are huskless, and are grown only for their edible seed.[1] The seeds are nutrient- and calorie-rich, with an especially high content of fat (particularly linoleic acid and oleic acid), protein, dietary fiber, and numerous micronutrients. Pumpkin seed can refer either to the hulled kernel or unhulled whole seed, and most commonly refers to the roasted end product used as a snack.

USES
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 in the US by their Spanish name (usually shortened), and typically salted and sometimes spiced after roasting. They are also available as a packaged product in Mexico and other Latin American countries, in the American Southwest, and in specialty 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, followed by beans, all becoming part of the Three Sisters agricultural system.[5][6]

Hulled pumpkin seeds
As an ingredient in mole dishes, they are known in Mexican Spanish as pipián. A salsa made of pumpkin seeds and known as sikil pak is a traditional dish of the Yucatán.[7][8] A Mexican snack using pepitas in an artisan fashion[clarification needed] is referred to as pepitoría. Lightly roasted, salted, unhulled pumpkin seeds are popular in Greece with the descriptive name πασατέμπο, pasatémbo, from Italian: passatempo, lit. 'pastime'.

The pressed oil of the roasted seeds of a Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo var. 'styriaca' is also used in Central and Eastern Europe cuisine.[9][10] Pumpkin seeds can also be made into a nut butter. Pumpkin seeds can also be steeped in neutral alcohol, which is then distilled to produce an eau de vie.

BENEFITS
People can eat pumpkin seeds alone as a snack or add them to dishes for extra taste and a crunchy texture.

Individuals can try using them:

on top of salads
in homemade granola with a mixture of nuts, pumpkin seeds, and dried fruit
roasted and brushed with olive oil and seasoning
in pumpkin seed butter.

Pumpkin Seeds (Kaddu)