Fresh off a more than 18 hour drive from their origin in northern Mexico, San Luis Potosi to be exact, these pepeitas are the equivalent of sunflower seeds in the diets of millions of mexicanos around the world, yours truly included. For me they are the snack I most look forward to receiving anytime anyone promises to bring me back something from Mexico. These seeds in particular were brought back to me by my sister who just came back from her vacation in San Luis and Guanajuato.
Granted one does not have to actually leave the country to find these tasty pumpkin seeds, toasted and salted to perfection, since they can also be found at most Mexican markets, but as with anything else hecho in Mexico, they just seem to taste better when they’ve traveled such a long road to get to us. There is no wrong or right way to eat a pepita. You either # 1 utilize your hands to crack them open, then introduce their salty crunchiness into your mouth, one or many pumpkin seeds at a time…
Or # 2, my personal favorite, just grab a handful of pepitas, place them in your mouth, one at a time, use your teeth to open them up, and enjoy. An added bonus of eating them this way is that you get to taste the outer shell of the pepitas, which is the saltiest and most toasted part of the seed.
Asi es que ya saben, if you’re going to Mexico anytime soon…or just your local marqueta…pick me up a few bags of pepitas. My current supply is running low.