Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
---|---|
Energy | 2,401 kJ (574 kcal) |
14.71 g
|
|
Sugars | 1.29 g |
Dietary fiber | 6.5 g |
49.05 g
|
|
Saturated | 8.544 g |
Monounsaturated | 15.734 |
Polyunsaturated | 19.856 |
29.84 g
|
|
Vitamins | |
Thiamine (B1) |
(6%)
0.07 mg |
Riboflavin (B2) |
(13%)
0.15 mg |
Niacin (B3) |
(30%)
4.43 mg |
Pantothenic acid (B5) |
(11%)
0.57 mg |
Vitamin B6 |
(8%)
0.1 mg |
Folate (B9) |
(14%)
57 μg |
Vitamin C |
(8%)
6.5 mg |
Vitamin E |
(4%)
0.56 mg |
Vitamin K |
(4%)
4.5 μg |
Minerals | |
Calcium |
(5%)
52 mg |
Iron |
(62%)
8.07 mg |
Magnesium |
(155%)
550 mg |
Manganese |
(214%)
4.49 mg |
Phosphorus |
(168%)
1174 mg |
Potassium |
(17%)
788 mg |
Sodium |
(17%)
256 mg |
Zinc |
(80%)
7.64 mg |
|
|
|
|
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
Pepita (from Mexican Spanish: pepita de calabaza, "little seed of squash") is a Spanish culinary term for the pumpkin seed, the edible seed of a pumpkin or other cultivar of squash (genus Cucurbita). The seeds are typically rather flat and asymmetrically oval, and light green in color and may have a white outer hull. Some cultivars are hulless, and are grown only for their seed. The seeds are nutrient-rich, with especially high content of protein, dietary fiber and numerous micronutrients. The word can refer either to the hulled kernel or unhulled whole seed, and most commonly refers to the roasted end product.
Pumpkin seeds are a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine and are also roasted and served as a snack. 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 by their Spanish name (usually shortened), and typically salted and sometimes spiced after roasting (and today also available as a packaged product), in Mexico and other Latin American countries, in the American Southwest, and in speciality 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. 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 and then beans being domesticated, becoming part of the Three Sisters agricultural system.