Butternut Squash Waste Proves Profitable

ITHACA, N.Y.—Researchers at Cornell’s Food Venture Center turned the waste from a farmer's butternut squash into a marketable, nutty-tasting oil ideal for salad dressings and marinades.

"The farm sent 600 pounds of seeds and peels, and as a result of some trials we did, several potential products were developed," said Herb Cooley, a technician at FVC. "One of the trials involved separating the seed from the rest of the waste and drying it. We then tried roasting some of the seed and pressing that in our oil press, which yielded an excellent result." The result, Butternut Squash Seed Oil which will be distributed by Stony Brook WholeHeartedFoods, the name of the company's new product line.