Yucatán Peninsula Pumpkin Seeds

The pumpkin is native to the Americas, and its genus covers 27 species, of which 19 are wild and six domesticated. This squash has been cultivated in the Yucatán Peninsula for at least 4,000 years. It is a key crop in the milpa, a traditional agricultural system, which intercrops corn, beans and pumpkins, the three staples of the Mayan diet. Moreover, pumpkin seeds, known as sikil in Mayan, were long the main source of fats and protein in Mesoamerica.
There are two types of pumpkin in the Yucatán, differentiated by the size of their seeds. The small-seeded pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), or k’uum, is harvested either early, when still young and tender, between July and August, or when ripe, between September and October. The early squash are used in many traditional recipes, while the riper ones are eaten fresh with honey, used in píib (cornbread baked in the oven with chicken or pork) or given as feed to farmyard animals, like the Hairless Pig (a Slow Food Presidium). The toasted seeds are used to prepare traditional condiments like sikil pak, a sauce that also contains tomato and habanero chilies.
The large-seeded pumpkin (Cucurbita argyrosperma), or x ka’, is harvested when green, between July and August, or ripe, between September and October. The flesh of the ripe squash is fibrous and used only for animal feed. The seeds, on the other hand, are greatly appreciated. Toasted and shelled, they are used in traditional recipes like pipián, a sauce served with chicken or pork, and papadzules, corn tortillas dipped in a pumpkin-seed sauce, filled with egg and served with a spicy tomato sauce.
Even though pumpkins are widely grown in the Yucatán, the local Mayan population does not have access to a market where they can sell their produce profitably. Giving value to the pumpkins means also preserving the milpa and all of its wealth.