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The traditional pumpkin seed oil production in the
Slovene Raba Region An old custom worth preserving One
of the culinary specialties of the Raba Region is pumpkin seed oil, which is still produced the traditional way (hot-pressed). Out
of personal interest and as a means of preserving this old custom we
considered pressing pumpkin seed oil ourselves. Once again
we counted on the help provided by Mr Károly
Bedi from Števanovci/Apátistvánfalva, who had already explained
to us how to produce home-made schnapps a couple of months ago. Števanovci, 03/27/2008 Already some weeks ago we had purchased a bag containing 15 kg of pumpkin
seeds and were curious to find out how many litres of oil we could possible
produce of them. Ripe pumpkins are usually harvested
in autumn, which is the reason why people already start taking out the seeds
of the pumpkins at that time of the year. Firstly, the seeds need to be cleaned from pumpkin leftovers and peeled in laborious
handwork, before they can be placed on a dry spot for several weeks. As a consequence of this storage, the seeds are soon
completely dry, which is indispensable for the further processing of the
seeds to oil. Due to the long period of this drying and cleaning process the pumpkin seed oil production normally takes
place only in the course of the winter months. Before we could work the seeds
in the workroom, we had to go outside to clean them once more from possible
hulls by repetitively shaking them in plastic vats. Some decent early morning
exercise for all of us, and it soon turned out not be the only form of
physical activity on that morning. Even though we did not expect this kind of
spadework, we still did it with the necessary zeal in order to be ready for
the actual oil pressing process. The second production step consisted in seed
grinding. Afterwards, the grinded seeds were filled into a special kind of
machine, which kneaded these grinded seeds to a pasty mass and may remind the
amateur of a bread kneading machine. The slow but continuous circular
motion of this kind of centrifuge turned the once solid substance into a
mellow, green mass. After having taken the kneaded pumpkin seed mass out of
the machine, we filled it into a long wooden recipient. This mass felt
comfortably soft, and Mr Bedi said, quite
appropriately, that it would give the skin a smooth gloss, and that we should
not wash our hands right afterwards. After this well-intentioned advice Mr Bedi explained to us
the further processes in pumpkin seed oil production. What followed his
explanations soon turned out to be the physically most demanding procedure of
the day. Mr Bedi heated an oven providing two
worktops with logs. The green pumpkin seed mass that had
been put into two large pans had to be stirred with big wooden spoons
up to the point it changed colour to a brownish colour and no steam
evaporated from the pans anymore. We needed to be careful to make sure the
heated mass was not only stirred with strong
concentric motions but we also had to prevent the mass from sticking to the
pan or even scorching. Back in those days when oil was still produced without
any machine technology, both the stirring and the kneading
of the mass were exclusively done by the women in the village.
Pressing the pumpkin seed mass, however, used to be man’s business. The
fifth and final step in the production of pumpkin seed oil was the actual oil
pressing process. The heated mass was filled into a
press, which ran a hydraulic piston unit with high pressure into the mass and
squeezed the oil out of it. Showing great skills, Mr Bedi
knocked out the round, hard leftovers of the pressed mass out of the end
piece of the press with a stake. These leftovers are
commonly either fed to the cows or used for the oil production as well.
In the latter case they are crumbled and squeezed once
again in the press; this oil, however, is of poorer quality. In the end we had produced 5 litres of pure home-made pumpkin
seed oil, a result to be proud of. The two hours’ work was worth the
effort, and we were looking forward to flavouring our salads, potatoes and
other foodstuff with the healthy natural product. We would like to express our
gratitude to Mr Bedi for his precious information
and active participation. What is more, we owe a big thank you to Mrs Mária Horváth Gmeindl, Tibor’s aunt, and Mrs Ildikó
Takács-Fébert, who both cooperated
with great zeal as well.
Pictures Tibor Horvat and Joël Gerber |