Ingredients
To buy
- Steirisches Kuerbiskernoel, carrying the PGI seal
- a dark glass bottle, kept away from light
Classic uses
- green salad, for dressing
- pumpkin soup, for finishing
- vanilla ice cream, for pouring over
- boiled potatoes, warm
- fresh curd cheese or cream cheese
For a simple dressing
- 3 tablespoonspumpkin seed oil
- 1 tablespooncider or apple vinegar
- 1 teaspoonmild mustard
- salt and black pepper
- a little water, to loosen
Directions
- Pour a thin film onto a white plate and tilt it in the light. It should look deep green in a thin layer. Keep the bottle in a dark cupboard and away from the stove.
- Use an opened bottle within about six months. The most important rule is never to heat it. Heat destroys both the flavour and the colour at once.
- Whisk the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper together first. Then whisk in the oil slowly in a thin stream. Ladle pumpkin soup into bowls and swirl the oil over the top.
- Add it after the soup is off the heat and never before. Pour a spoonful of the oil over plain vanilla ice cream.
- Add a small pinch of flaky salt over the top of it. The salt, the fat and the cold cream work together.
- Spoon it over fresh curd cheese and eat it with bread. Drop a little into a beef broth just before serving.
- Whisk it into scrambled eggs after they leave the pan. Pour it carefully and keep it well away from tablecloths.
Technique
- The hull-less Styrian oil pumpkin is a variety of Cucurbita pepo.
- The flesh of the pumpkin is generally not eaten and is left in the field or used as animal feed, since the crop is grown for its seed alone.
Substitutions
- There is no true substitute, but a good toasted sesame oil occupies a similar role as a strongly flavoured finishing oil.
- Roasted pumpkin seeds ground into a salad give some of the same flavour without the oil.
Variations
- Some producers roast the seed paste longer for a darker, more intense oil.
- A lighter, less roasted style is also sold and suits delicate dishes.
- Pumpkin seed oil from other countries is generally made from hulled seeds and tastes noticeably different.
History
Pressed from hull-less pumpkin seeds that appeared in Styria by mutation in the nineteenth century; Steirisches Kürbiskernöl won PGI protection in 1996.
Frequently asked questions
What is Styrian pumpkin seed oil?
Styrian pumpkin seed oil is a sauce & condiment from Austria: thick dark green nutty oil drizzled over salads, soups and vanilla ice cream. Pressed from hull-less pumpkin seeds that appeared in Styria by mutation in the nineteenth century; Steirisches Kürbiskernöl won PGI protection in 1996.
How long does Styrian pumpkin seed oil take to make?
Styrian pumpkin seed oil takes 5 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes a bottle, used by the spoonful. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Styrian pumpkin seed oil?
Yes, within limits. There is no true substitute, but a good toasted sesame oil occupies a similar role as a strongly flavoured finishing oil. Roasted pumpkin seeds ground into a salad give some of the same flavour without the oil.
What is the most important thing to get right in Styrian pumpkin seed oil?
Use an opened bottle within about six months. The most important rule is never to heat it. Heat destroys both the flavour and the colour at once.
