Kabocha Seeds

Kabocha is a winter squash of the species Cucurbita maxima, with dark green, sometimes orange, ridged skin and sweet, dense, golden-orange flesh. Inside the hollow centre, stringy pulp surrounds numerous flat, oval seeds, which are about 1.5 to 2 cm long. Seeds from this species are often plumper and thicker-edged than those of common pumpkin, with a creamy white to pale tan husk that is often easy to chew. Inside is a green kernel, which is nutty and slightly sweet when roasted. Seeds are rinsed from the pulp and dried or roasted whole, and some hulless varieties provide shell-free green seeds. They are sold roasted, salted or plain as a snack and for use in baking.

Cucurbita maxima was domesticated in South America, probably in the Andean region of Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, from a wild ancestor, and it has been cultivated for thousands of years. The kabocha type was developed in Japan after Portuguese traders brought squash in the sixteenth century. The word kabocha is thought to come from Cambodia, via the Portuguese name for the squash, abóbora, or a reference to the place from which the squash arrived. In Japan the squash is called kabocha, and in English-speaking countries it is also known as Japanese pumpkin.

Squash of the maxima species were an important Andean crop, and they spread across the Americas before European contact. Portuguese traders introduced squash to Japan in the 1540s, reportedly bringing them from Cambodia, and over time Japanese growers selected for the sweet, dry, chestnut-like flesh that distinguishes kabocha. Dedicated Western-type cultivars were introduced into Japan in the nineteenth century, and breeding in the twentieth century produced varieties such as buttercup and Ebisu, which later reached North America and Europe, where they gained popularity as a flavoursome winter squash. Seed from squash has long been eaten across the Americas, as a snack and ground into sauces, and in East Asia roasted pumpkin and squash seeds are popular as a snack and used in festivals. Today, kabocha is grown commercially in Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Tonga and the United States, and the seeds are a by-product that growers and snack makers are increasingly marketing for human consumption, instead of discarding.

Seeds are rinsed, dried and roasted with salt, spices or a little oil for a crunchy snack, and added to salads, soups, granola and baked goods. They can be eaten in the shell, which is thin and tender in this type, or hulled. Ground seeds are used in sauces and pastes, and the seeds are also pressed for oil. In East Asia, roasted squash seeds are a common snack. Gardeners also save the seeds for planting.

Squash seeds are a good source of magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, healthy unsaturated fats and plant protein, and they contain phytosterols and vitamin E. Pumpkin seed products have been studied for urinary and prostate health and for heart health markers, but the evidence is limited and mostly based on small trials, and it cannot be assumed to apply to kabocha seeds specifically. As an energy-dense snack, they are best eaten in moderate portions.