Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Popcorn (2179)

Hulling sunflower seeds by hand is a tedious, time-consuming job. The seeds should be mature, well-filled and thoroughly dry before you hull them.

You may roast them in a frying pan at low heat or in a shallow pan in the oven at 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix one cup sunflower seeds with two teaspoons vegetable oil and one teaspoon salt. Heat and stir until they are hot. Depending on how dry the seeds are, this will take two to six minutes. There are approximately 560 calories in a three and one-half ounce serving, and they have a 47% fat content.

Handle squash or pumpkin seeds the same way as sunflower seeds, but you don't need to hull them. There are about 553 calories in a 3½-ounce serving and approximately 46.7% of fat content.

Store popcorn in the refrigerator in airtight containers, or better yet, in the freezer. At 45 degrees Fahrenheit (refrigerator temperature), the popping volume begins to decrease after about 30 months of storage. A quart of plain popped corn contains only about 100 calories.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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