Lacto-Fermented Pumpkin (and Seeds!) Recipe

Stop! Put the pumpkin down. There is no need to kick your pumpkins to the curb after Halloween. If they're still fresh and whole—and you're not the "pumpkin-pie-from-scratch" type (we don't judge)—it's time to grab a Mason jar and your Masontops fermentation tools. 

We found a great recipe for Lacto-Fermented Pumpkin Pickles and Pumpkin seeds that completely inspired us to save our pumpkins. This is just another reminder that virtually any vegetable or fruit can be fermented and seasoned in any way you prefer. Masontops makes it so easy to ferment vegetables with our easy-to-use Mason jar fermentation kits and Free Fermentation Guide.   

Lacto-Fermented Pumpkin Pickles 

Eat it, grate it, chop it into a salad. There are so many different ways you can enjoy fermented pumpkin, why settle for just one? We found this fantastic recipe by a member of the Home Brew Talk Forum and they recommend adding some sugar to turn it into a sweet treat. 

To make it with Masontops, you add all of the ingredients to your Mason jar (excluding the brown sugar and salt), dissolve your salt into water separately and then fill the jar with the brine until there is about 1.5" of headspace. Then add your Pickle Pebble and Pickle Pipe and it's ready to ferment! Once the ferment is complete, you can add brown sugar to the jar and leave it in the fridge with a Mason jar lid on. 

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin (we recommend pie pumpkin)
• 2 tbs sea salt
• Chlorine-free water
• 1 tbs spice (nutmeg, whole cinnamon, vanilla bean and pumpkin spice) 
• 1.5 tbs American oak chips (or anything else with tannins)
• Brown sugar (to be added post-ferment) 
• 2 pieces of pumpkin rind 

Tools

• 1 gallon Mason jar 
• Masontops Pickle Pipe (Wide Mouth)
• Masontops Pickle Pebble (Wide Mouth) 

Recommended Fermentation Time: 5 - 14 days (please taste after 5 days) 

Find the original recipe on Home Brew Talk Forum here. Thank you Brew-Happy for the wonderful tips! 

Lacto-Fermented Pumpkin Seeds 

We love this recipe because you can turn the pumpkin seeds into a rich butter paste or dry them out to munch on them as you would baked pumpkin seeds. We found this great dual-recipe on Fermenting in Utah. 

Place your seeds in a Mason jar, mix the salt and water separately, and pour it over the seeds. You want to add as little water as possible; if you find there is too much empty space you can add more seeds or move it to a smaller jar. Again, leave a headspace of 1.5" and top it off your a Pickle Pebble and Pickle Pipe. After you ferment the seeds for 3 days, dry them on a plate or blend them in a food processor with ghee to turn it into a nice butter paste. Warning: apparently pumpkin seeds STINK when they're fermenting, but that is normal and they will still taste great! 

Ingredients 

• 2 cups died raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (no salt or oil!)
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 cups of Chlorine-free water 
• 1 tbs ghee (optional)

Tools

• 1 quart Mason jar (go smaller if there is too much headspace to eliminate oxygen) 
• Masontops Pickle Pipe (Wide Mouth)
• Masontops Pickle Pebble (Wide Mouth) 
• Food processor (optional) 

Recommended Fermentation Time:3 days (or to taste) 

Find the original recipe on Fermenting in Utah here.

Products in this Article