Toasted pumpkin seeds have an intense, spicy-nutty fragrance. The flavour of pumpkin seeds oil is so strong that people often have to grow accustomed to it.
Main constituents
Pumpkin seeds contain sizable amounts of protein (35%) and approximately 50% fatty oil, whose fatty acid profile is dominated by unsaturated fatty acids, namely linoleic and oleic acid. There are many trace constituents like tocopherols (0.1%) and phytosterols (total 0.1 to 0.5%); of the latter group, many are specific for the family of even the species.
The dark green colour of
pumpkin seed oil is caused by carotenoids (15 ppm, mostly lutein)
and even more by porphyrines (13 ppm, mostly chlorophyll b and
pheophytin a). Pumpkin seed oil stains have terminated the career of
many garments, particularly shirts and ties; the stains, however,
pale quickly (though not always completely) in direct sunlight. See
also
annatto about
vegetable colourings.
The flavour of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil develops in a toasting procedure, which is applied to the seeds immediately before extracting the oil. In this process, a multitude of volatile, flavourful compounds forms via the Maillard reaction. There is little scientific research in that field, but it seems that the most important flavour contributions come from pyrazines, e.g., 2,6-dimethylpyrazine.
Origin
Pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo, is native to Central America, especially México, where it has been cultivated for millennia.
After the Spaniards had discovered America, pumpkin was imported into Europe and Asia, where it was welcomed as a cheap and nutritional vegetable. Pumpkin seed oil is won from a particular mutant (Styrian oilseed pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca) with tender, non-woody, seed hulls, which is cultivated only in South-Eastern Austria and the adjacent areas of the neighbouring countries. Pumpkin seed oil is produced in greater scale only since the begin of the 20.th century.
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