The green kernels — the seed with its white husk removed, sometimes sold as pepitas. That is why they are soft enough to eat straight from the bag. Whole white pumpkin seeds have a tough, fibrous shell that is usually discarded rather than eaten.

Both have a place. Raw are softer and mild, and mix easily into porridge, salads and smoothies. A few minutes in a dry pan, until they start to pop and smell toasty, deepens the flavour and firms the texture. Watch them, as they catch quickly.

That the seeds were dried in open air rather than in a heated dryer or roasted in oil. It is a description of the process, not a nutritional point — what it tells you is that nothing has been added, so these are plain kernels rather than a salted snack.

Scattered over almost anything savoury — soup, salad, roasted vegetables, avocado on toast. Toasted and salted they are a straightforward snack. They also hold their bite well stirred into bread dough or granola.

They are among the more nutrient-dense seeds, carrying protein, fibre, unsaturated fats and minerals including magnesium, iron and zinc. A tablespoon is a small amount, so treat it as a useful addition to a varied diet rather than a replacement for one.