ORGANIC Pumpkin Seed Oil

Styrian specialty: Cream of pumpkin soup with pumpkin seed oil

Our roasted organic Styrian pumpkin seed oil is a popular cooking oil with a dark green colour and aromatic flavour. Compared to our virgin pumpkin seed oil made from unroasted seeds, this oil is significantly nuttier and more intense. To make roasted pumpkin seed oil, around 30% of the pumpkin seeds are roasted before cold pressing. After roasting, they are mixed with unroasted, untreated pumpkin seeds and pressed into oil in spindle presses.

Pressing at temperatures of no more than 40 degrees preserves the valuable ingredients and unique flavour of pumpkin seed oil. In Styria and in this country, roasted and unroasted pumpkin seed oil is considered a gourmet delicacy and is used not only in savoury dishes such as salad dressings and soups, but also in desserts such as ice cream and crêpes. Like balsamic cream, pumpkin seed oil can be used to decorate dishes. With its dark green, almost brown colour, it enhances mozzarella and soups. Pumpkin seed oil is not suitable for heating or frying due to its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Yellow with green veins: the Styrian oil pumpkin.

Cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil is popular with connoisseurs for its intense nutty, mildly spicy flavour. A particular speciality is pumpkin seed oil made from the seeds of the Styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca), a pumpkin variety that was cultivated in Styria at the end of the 19th century and was only known there until the 1970s. We source the pumpkin seeds for our pumpkin seed oil from organic farmers in Austria.

Pumpkin seed oil contains vitamin E

Made from gently roasted pumpkin seeds, the oil not only tastes delicious, it is also a nutritional powerhouse, containing 46g of polyunsaturated fatty acids per 100g. As well as essential fatty acids, it also contains vitamin E (100g of pumpkin seed oil provides 240% of the recommended daily allowance). Vitamin E helps protect cells against oxidative stress. Make sure you eat a varied and balanced diet and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Our pumpkin seed oil is an ingredient in our Cashew Pumpkin Seed Pesto. This is carefully handcrafted from cashew and pumpkin seeds, parmesan, roasted onion and a fruity hint of apple, as well as our roasted pumpkin seed oil. Made with 100% certified organic ingredients, this pesto is not only great on pasta or as a spread. It also works well with hot potato dishes and classic potato salads. It is also delicious as an ingredient in dressings for leafy salads.

Our Pumpkin Seed Coconut Spread is a purely vegetable spread made from cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil, roasted pumpkin seeds and virgin organic coconut oil. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in the cold-pressed pumpkin seed oil complement the saturated fatty acids in the virgin coconut oil. Although coconut oil contains saturated fatty acids, they are a special type of fatty acid. The white edible oil is largely made up of medium-chain fatty acids called MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides), such as the valuable lauric acid.

Our oil mill also produces a fine Pumpkin Seed Flour. This is made from virgin, unroasted organic pumpkin seeds that have been gently de-oiled and finely ground. The pumpkin seed flour contains around 8g of pumpkin seed oil, as well as around 62g of vegetable protein and around 13g of fibre per 100g. Like pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin seed flour is naturally green and a culinary rarity. It is perfect as an ingredient for bread and rolls or as breadcrumbs. As it is gluten-free, it can also be used in baking and cooking for those with a gluten intolerance.

Sebastian and Werner Baensch during quality control.

Made in the family manufactory

The quality of our culinary delights is very important to us and our motto has always been quality over quantity. This means that much of the production of our pumpkin seed oil is still done by hand. This starts with the selection of organic raw materials, the careful production of the oil in small batches and the bottling in UV-protected glass bottles. In this way, the valuable ingredients such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and phytonutrients are optimally preserved and our oils make an important contribution to a healthy diet. More and more health-conscious people are recognising the value of natural, organic products for a healthy and balanced diet. To guarantee the quality of our products at all times, we carry out extensive internal and external quality testing and assurance by government-approved laboratories. In September 2020, we were visited by a film crew from the NDR (North German Broadcasting), who also reported on the production of pumpkin seed oil at our oil mill in the report Pumpkin Farmers in Harvest Fever.

Our Styrian pumpkin seed oil is ideal for use in hot and cold dishes - for example in salads, soups, sauces, cheese, meat and vegetable dishes and with vanilla ice cream. Pumpkin seed oil is not suitable for frying due to its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Botanical name: Species such as Cucurbita maxima or Stilbo of the genus Cucurbita

Origin:
The oil pumpkin is traditionally grown in southern Styria, southern Burgenland and the neighbouring areas of Hungary and Slovenia as well as in China and imported from these countries. It has only been cultivated on a large scale since the beginning of the 20th century. The fruits, which weigh around 8 to 10 kg, ripen on the sandy-loamy soil in a special climate of warmth and humidity. In autumn, when the fruits have changed colour from green to yellow-orange, the up to 1000 seeds are extracted from the flesh by machine or, in small farms, by hand. The seeds are washed and dried at 50°C so that they can be stored. They can then be ground. The advantage over olive oil production is that pumpkin seed oil can be pressed from the storable seeds all year round, depending on demand. To extract the pumpkin seed oil from the dry flour, the ground seeds are mixed with water and salt and roasted until the water has evaporated, stirring constantly. Roasting is necessary to separate the protein in the seeds from the oil. The finished paste - also known as oil cake - is now pressed. In the past, the pulp was pressed out in a massive wooden device (Styrian oil cow) by pressing two special wooden inserts on top of each other. The pressing was done by beating on a wooden wedge (oil beating), hence the job title of oil beater. The freshly pressed pumpkin seed oil is left for a few days to allow the suspended matter to settle. One litre of pumpkin seed oil requires about 3 kg of seeds or about 35 pumpkins. The pressed residue (also known as oil cas) used to be used as pig feed.

Certification

The pumpkin seeds used for our roasted pumpkin seed oil are certified according to BIO VO 834/2007 and VO 889/2008 or 1235/2008.

Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 of the European Parliament restricts nutrition and health claims made on foods. This means that from December 12, 2012, it will no longer be possible to refer to the nutritional and physiological effects of foods and food supplements. (Only the pharmaceutical industry is now allowed to do this. )

READING TIP: If you would like to find out more about vegetable oils, please refer to the following publications and websites:
- www.systemed.de
o Positive things about fats and oils ISBN 978-3-942772-57-0

- www.olionatura.de

Krist, Sabine, Buchbauer, Gerhard, Klausberger, Carina: Lexikon der pflanzlichen Fette und Öle. 1st edition. Vienna: Springer-Verlag: 2008.

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