How to germinate pumpkin seeds
Soak pumpkin seeds in water at room temperature overnight. In the morning rinse, spread on damp paper towel and store in a cool place, covered with one layer of cheesecloth. Every 4-5 hours, rinse the seeds with clean water. As a rule, the seeds germinate by the end of the second day. On the third day after germination, they begin to taste bitter, so it is recommended to use them immediately or at least within one or two days. If not eating immediately, wrap in damp cloth and store in the refrigerator where they can be stored up to 5-6 days provided they are washing with cold water twice a day, including before eating. A rancid, pungent smell seeds in a food is not suitable.
However, there are two ways to preserve them:
- freeze mode fast freeze;
- dry in the oven at 80oC with the ajar door and then grind into flour.
Whole germinated seeds
Once the pumpkin seeds sprout, eat them with water or milk (a day not more than 50 g), add to salads, first and second courses, cereals, sauces, etc. You can also connect them with honey and use as a treat or include in the composition of dough for bread (though when baking sprouted seeds will lose some of its beneficial properties).
Crushed sprouted seeds
Grind sprouted pumpkin seeds with a blender or pass them through a meat grinder. The resulting nutritional product may be used in the same way as whole seeds, i.e., safely add to the finished porridge, gravies and sauces, soups, and various beverages, yogurt, jelly, juices, cocktails etc. Chopped sprouted pumpkin seeds combine with grated carrots, crushed nuts, dried fruits, fresh herbs, lemon juice, and other products.
Pumpkin milk
Preparing the milk from sprouted pumpkin seeds, you can just drink like normal cow's milk, and can cook a variety of cereal, added to drinks – tea, jelly, coffee, juice, kneading the dough, including sweet, etc.
Recipe milk. Take 1 piece of sprouted pumpkin seeds (suitable barely hatched, and 2-3-day-old seedlings) and pass them through a meat grinder or grind using a blender. Then while stirring slowly pour in the mixture 4 parts water and strain through a sieve or press through 2 layers of cheesecloth. The milk is ready. By the way, don't throw away the cake and knead it a dough for bread or pancakes, or just eat as it is very useful product to improve the taste, can add honey).
Cakes made from sprouted seeds
Sprouted pumpkin seeds give baked goods an amazing original taste. When kneading the dough can use them in fairly large quantities – up to 1/3 of the total weight. However, in this case, the cleaned seeds should not germinate before crop emergence is enough before using them as one of the ingredients soak in water for 3-4 hours, a further activation process of the seed will pass already in the kneading and ripening" of the dough.
There is another option use sprouted pumpkin seeds when cooking cakes. Dried and milled into flour, the seeds add when kneading dough for bread, cakes and biscuits 3-4 tablespoon for 800g of wheat flour. Even that amount of pumpkin flour enhance cakes easily digestible protein, improve its organoleptic properties and shelf life of such products remain soft).
In addition, pumpkin seed flour in combination with various herbs and spices is an excellent breading meat and fish schnitzels and cutlets.