How to Dry Pumpkin Seeds

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Ginny with Simply Beautiful Crafts on behalf of Expert Village. And today we're going to do one of my favorite things about Halloween. We're going to roast pumpkin seeds, yum, yum. If you want to seal in your pumpkin seeds before you toast them, or even season them while you're toasting them with oil or salt, you want to make sure that you're pumpkin seeds are very dry. So whether you put them on a stove and boiled them ten minutes, or took them straight from the pumpkin to your colandar, you'll want to make sure that they're really dry. Now, if you live in a dry climate, you can spread them out on a cookie sheet or a roasting pan and just leave them out overnight. Some people like to put them in a very low oven and dry them out by putting them in the lowest possible oven overnight. If you have a dehydrator, especially if you live in a humid climate, you might want to put them on your dehydrator and follow the directions of your dehydrator for drying the pumpkin seeds. Well, here in Arizona we don't have too much of a problem with dryness, so I just put my pumpkin seeds on paper towel. Besides I'm in too much of a hurry to let them go overnight, I'm too anxious to eat them. I put them on a paper towel and then just pat them dry. I like to put seasoning on mine. Sometimes that seasoning includes some butter and some spices, so you really want to make sure that your pumpkin seeds are completely and thoroughly dry. If you don't have dry pumpkin seeds, your seasoning won't stick to them well and you'll lose some of the flavor. So whether you're patting your pumpkin seeds dry with a paper towel or a thin dish towel, or drying them overnight in a dehydrator, or drying them on a very low setting on your oven, make sure your seeds are really dry before you season them. That will give you the very best results for your toasted, roasted, yummy sunflower seeds."