Souvenir From Austria: Pumpkin Seed Oil

When a friend returned from a two-week sailing trip on the Adriatic Sea, she soothed my pangs of envy with a few treats from her travels, including forest-green pumpkin seed oil, which we sopped up with chunks of bread. Dark and toasty, pumpkin seed oil can be used as you would any good olive oil, but its flavor is far more intriguing.

The oil is made by pressing roasted, hulled pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas. Styria, a region in Austria and Slovenia, has been producing pumpkin seed oil since the 1700s, when it was prized for its medicinal properties.

The oil is not used in cooking, since it can become bitter when heated. Instead, take advantage of its intense, nutty taste whisked into vinaigrettes, drizzled over soups, or even spooned on vanilla ice cream. Or just pour a small pool into a dish and enjoy it plain with bread. It's good enough to soothe the sting of another June with no Adriatic Sea in sight.

• Find it: La Tourangelle Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil, Two 8.45-oz. tins for $26.15 on Amazon

Recipes to try:
• Austrian Cheese Spread with Pumpkin Seed Oil from Food & Wine
• Roasted Pumpkin Seed Oil Vinaigrette from Food & Wine
• Stilton-Pear Crostini with Pumpkin Seed Oil from O Magazine
• Pumpkin Seed Oil Cake from Delicious Days

Have you ever tasted pumpkin seed oil?

(Images: Amazon; Flickr member smashz licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (12)

Question: can this be used as a substitute for sesame seed or peanut oil? My daughter is allergic to sesame and peanuts.

@Ms. Lynee, the strong flavor and the fact that it shouldn't be heated makes it a bad substitute for peanut oil, but you could try it in place of sesame oil in vinaigrettes and other uncooked dishes. There is a similar nuttiness between the two.

I did not like this post at all.
One of my favorite shops has a lot of La Tourangelle oils. I've always given them an infatuated stare, but I wasn't sure that they'd have enough character to justify the price. This post have convinced me to try one out, which will long term lead me to buying them all. My wallet is going to hate you :)

JCBM try the almond and walnut oils, i like those for salad dressings. You can find them at homegoods and tj maxx a lot, too.

For those of you lucky enough to live near a Wegmans, they carry pumpkin seed oil.

Thank you, jenawithonen. I love almonds. I'd imagine the walnut oil is somewhat bitter? I'm particularly curious about the pistachio oil.

I love the La Tourangelle walnut oil in vinaigrettes, it really elevates a simple green salad. I don't find it to be bitter at all. I usually buy it at Marshall's or TJ Maxx, my husband bought it at our local supermarket and I was horrified that he had spent the money! Thanks for this post, I have wondered about the pumpkin seed oil...

I have always been a fan of pumpkin seed oil since I found it on the shelf at Wegman's. I have tried two domestically produced versions made by Hay River & Wholehearted Foods (which were featured in the NY Times). Both are very tasty and can be used in the same manner as the imported but the WF version is more authentic in my opinion.

great to see that this wonderful product finally gets some attention in the media. unfortunately the turangelle oil is not authentic Styrian pumpkin seed oil. I'm sure it's a great product but in terms of taste, color, smell and most importantly health benefits it's not comparable to original styrian pumpkin seed oil. the only
company in the US that sells the "real" stuff is Styrian gold (www.styriangold.com). trust me if after you have tried it you'll know the difference. unfortunately it's kinda pricey but it's worth every dollar

Here's a link for Wisconsin-made pumpkin seed oil, probably not as available in shops as La Tourangelle, but you can get it online!
http://hayriver.net/home/

I registered just to post this! When I was a foreign exchange student in Austria almost 20 years ago (eek!) I remember them serving me this amazing salad. It had cucumbers, very thinly-cut onions, tomatoes, and a vinaigrette made with pumpkin seed oil. When I came home raving about how amazing this was, people looked at me like I was crazy. Glad to see that pumpkin seed oil is available here, and I'll be ordering myself some shortly!

Ever since I returned from living in Germany, I have been looking for pumpkinseed oil. We used it all the time there for salad dressing, mixed with apple cider vinegar. There, I could buy a jar for two euros, and I have been completely scandalized by the price here! But I miss it enough that I might have to give in...