Pepitas Pack a Punch

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- Emily Tyra

IT'S FULL-ON PUMPKIN season, and lately it seems it's raining pumpkin seeds, aka pepitas. You'll find the tasty kernels stirred into granola, studding a slice of coffeehouse pumpkin bread, or popping up in beet salads, grain bowls, and more.

But are the seeds you scoop out of your Halloween jack-o'-lantern and pepitas the same thing? Not exactly. If you husked the tough outer shell of a regular white pumpkin seed, you'd end up with a little green seed. That's a pepita. Gratefully, there's no need for this task: Pepitas are harvested from specific hull-less pumpkin varieties, with fun names such as Naked Bear and Lady Godiva.