Rhea Wessel - freelance writer, author

From seed to shining seed-oil
Rhea Wessel | Special to The Star
November 6, 2002

Welcome to the town of Bad Gams, a tourist area and home to dozens of pumpkin-seed oil producers.

Indians first cultivated squash for their seeds 10,000 years ago, and use of the seeds is now traditional in Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. Hull-less seeds occurred as a natural mutation in an unknown place in central Europe more than 100 years ago. The mutation replaced hulled seeds in Austria 50 years later.

Seeds are harvested from the pumpkins in mid October. Small family farmers harvest by hand and larger ones use machines. The remaining pumpkin flesh, said to be inedible, is left in the fields to rot and serve as fertilizer.

The seeds are then washed, dried and separated from any debris. Unripe seeds are removed from the lot and used in animal feeds or other products. Pumpkin seeds are stored in an air-tight room to keep them from absorbing odors.

In the next step, seeds are ground and kneaded and roasted with water and salt. One farm in Styria goes to the extra effort of roasting its seeds in iron skillets over a wood-burning fire.

The roasted and kneaded mass is then pressed, and pumpkin-seed oil is stored for 10-14 days while unwanted particles settle at the bottom. The dark green color of Styrian pumpkin seed oil comes from the reflection of the proto-chlorophylls derived from a layer of the seed.

Since 1998, the European Union has recognized a registered seal of quality and origin issued by the Association of Styrian Vegetable Producers called Styrian Pumpkin-Seed Oil g.g.A. The association represents 2,000 farmers and 130 commercial presses in Styria.

Styrian pumpkin-seed oil is sold widely in Austria, and Germany represents the most important export market because of language reasons and proximity. Some oil is exported to Japan and the Netherlands. The province of Styria lives from tourism, and many people are first exposed to the oil while on a visit. The capital of Styria, Graz, has been named the European Cultural Capital of 2003.

Tours of oil mills are available and some producers have gone to great lengths to make a good show. Some mills are calibrated by computer, and at least one farmer has built an old-fashioned water-powered mill.

The first time I was served a simple green salad in Graz, Austria, the capital of the province of Styria, I thought the chef was playing some kind of joke. The salad was doused with a dark black oil that left a green residue on the rim of my bowl. The locals dove in and assured me that what looked like spent motor oil was, actually, original Styrian pumpkinseed oil high in vitamin E.

Kuerbiskernoel (pumpkinseed oil) and pumpkins are held in high esteem in this Alpine country and particularly in the southern state of Styria, which produces a majority of the country’s pumpkins. Pumpkin glorification came long before the celebration of Halloween met this deeply Catholic country. A Styrian variety of pumpkin is prized for its green skinless seeds that are roasted and pressed to create an oil with a penetrating, nutty flavor.

With the pumpkin harvest coming to a close, various cities across Austria are staging pumpkin festivals. In Salzburg, I dined on a pumpkin schnitzel and washed it down with a gulp of pumpkin beer (made with a pumpkin blossom to give it a fruitier flavor). A delicate pumpkin strudel was dusted with powdered sugar and tempted me to dessert.

In Alabama, pumpkin cultivation is growing in popularity, as farmers and hobby growers seek alternative crops that don’t require a lot of work. In 1995, only 200 to 250 acres of land in Alabama was devoted to the pumpkin. This year, that figure reached nearly 1,300 acres, according to Dr. Joe Kemble, a vegetable crop horticulturist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

Kemble is promoting the growth of the crop and will hold an information session in Birmingham this spring, shortly before planting season, for those who are considering taking the pumpkin plunge.

“The pumpkin industry is an emerging market and this offers an alternative. Pumpkins allow farmers to diversify their risk,” Kemble said.

“You don’t have to do anything with the crop. You don’t have to clean it or process it. Sometimes an imperfect pumpkin even has more appeal,” he said. Twenty-five years ago, pumpkins grown in Alabama went for processing. Now, because of low margins in the food processing business, most Alabama pumpkins become Jack-o-lanterns or go fresh to market.

Styrian pumpkins are grown almost exclusively for their seeds, and the province produces 14.3 million pounds of seeds a year on 13,000 hectares. It takes roughly 33 pumpkins to make a liter of premium oil, keeping the price relatively high. If all seeds produced were used for oil, Styria would yield 2.6 million liters of oil per year. Pumpkinseed oil is the region’s third biggest agricultural product behind corn and grain and brings in 30 million to 50 million euros per year, roughly the same in dollars, said Christian Konrad, the head of the Styrian Vegetable producer’s association in Graz.

I fell in love with pumpkinseed oil when I studied in Graz from 1993-1994 on a Rotary Fellowship from a club in Texas. I recently returned there to research this story on pumpkinseed oil and pick up some of the Styrian black gold I longed for. Styria is the English rendition of the German word Steiermark, a province southeast of the Alps. Styria’s capital, Graz, has been named the European Cultural Capital for 2003 and is home to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many citizens, however, would rather their city be associated with another famous son – conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

During my year in Graz, I was repeatedly served the oil, but I did not realize to what extent the Austrians have expanded the pumpkin recipe repertoire. The land of Mozart knows how to make pumpkin a harmonious part of a good, hearty meal.

A pumpkin schnitzel is a vegetarian alternative to the swine variety. Just cut a half-inch slice of a pumpkin, peel off the skin, dredge it milk and flour and deep fry in corn oil. For pumpkin strudel, take your grandma’s recipe and sub pumpkin for apples. The yellow, funnel-shaped blossom of a pumpkin is edible and can be fried or filled or used as a garnish. Seeds are caramelized and seasoned in some 12 different flavors.

Black gold meets American pie

As a way to share my American culture when I was living in Austria, I decided to serve my host family in Graz an authentic Thanksgiving dinner and use their pumpkinseed oil invention in our pie creation.

Lacking pumpkin flesh in the can, as I used at home, I bought a fresh winter squash and boiled it down to mush. In order to remove lumps, I added original Styrian pumpkinseed oil and whipped the mix by hand as best as I could.

Surprise.

My orangy pumpkin meat had turned dark green, reminiscent of the Austrian meadows long after the ski season has come to a close.

But, the taste was just fine so I proceeded with my Joy of Cooking pumpkin pie recipe.

The first round of Thanksgiving dinner was well-received by about eight friends. They sat dressed conservatively around the table asking polite questions about American Thanksgiving traditions and telling their own travel stories from the U.S. of A. (Austrians are some of the most well-mannered people I have ever met.)

Then came the pie ... the lumpy, dark green creation. At that time, most Austrians ate pumpkin as a savory vegetable and not as a sweet. First, I had to explain what a pie is, and then I had to tell the story of how Austrian pumpkin-seed oil met American pie, resulting in my green mutation.

The guests cordially sampled the pie and came up with comments such as “interesting,” “different,” and “not what I expected.” The result was just what I wanted - an experience we would never forget. ... Just like the first time I was served a fried green tomato sandwich in the hills of northeast Alabama.

Feta Cheese with Pumpkinseed Oil

Feta cheese
Styrian pumpkinseed oil
Ground pepper
Ground, hulled pumpkin seeds
Cut the feta cheese in slices.
Dress with pumpkinseed oil, ground pepper and pumpkin seeds.

Source: www.kernoel.cc/english/recipies.htm

Rhea Wessel is a former reporter for The Star. She is now a journalist based in Europe.