Pepita is the edible seed of a pumpkin or squash. Pepita derives from the Mexican Spanish pepita de calabaza (little seed of squash) and it also derives from the old French word pippin (seed).
Pepita most specifically refers to the roasted, toasted, or dried version of a pumpkin or squash seed that is consumed as a snack. I don’t know about you, but a handful of pepitas, lightly salted and still a bit warm from the oven is the yummiest snack on a chill Autumnal afternoon! Pepitas also have any number of other delicious uses since they are a versatile addition to many a dish. Off the top of my head I can think of adding pepita to salads, to pasta, and making pumpkin seed butter.
Fresh pepitas ready to be baked and eaten – yummers!
I have always had a fondness for pepitas, I just never knew they had such a delightful name, to me they were always just pumpkin seeds. From now on it’s pepitas for me!
Namaste ~ Ella
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Lawhimsy 