Oil from seeds

[tashak]

Reading an apparently knowledgeable website, which stated that piki bread has been made on either a stone (old method) or griddle grill (new method), greased by oil from squash, watermelon or sunflower seed.
Okay, archaeology/culinary/Native American culture buffs: fill me in, please.
Have a metate which I supposed could be used to grind the seeds. Assume I would also need some sort of sieve/filter. Has anyone tried this, or have information about how to do this? Where else should I look?
I'm especially intrigued by the possibility of high heat oil extracted from squash or watermelon seeds.

[flowerpower]

I would not think that watermelon seeds were so oily that they would be used for frying. OK, I looked up Piki bread. I thought it was the Fry Bread, but I see it is more of a crepe. I am sure the Piki tastes better than it looks. The gray color was a turn-off. I do love that fry bread though.

One recipe called for the grease to be animal brains or fat. That is what I would have expected. I think the problem with grinding the seeds on the metate is that the stone may absorb the oil. What type of stone is it made from?

[donsgal]

Reading an apparently knowledgeable website, which stated that piki bread has been made on either a stone (old method) or griddle grill (new method), greased by oil from squash, watermelon or sunflower seed.
Okay, archaeology/culinary/Native American culture buffs: fill me in, please.
Have a metate which I supposed could be used to grind the seeds. Assume I would also need some sort of sieve/filter. Has anyone tried this, or have information about how to do this? Where else should I look?
I'm especially intrigued by the possibility of high heat oil extracted from squash or watermelon seeds.

The extraction methods I have seen involved a contraption that squooshes the seeds down and the oil drains/drips out the sides. Picture a large steel/stone where you put the seeds and another steel/stone that threads a spindle directly on top. Then you exert an enormous amount of pressure on the top stone (hydraulics, etc.,) which shmooshes the seeds. You might run a check on "appropriate technology" on Google and check out the websites that come up. I saw the machinery on one of them. Apparently, the appropriate technology people introduce this type of technology into 3rd world countries to help the economy. It's pretty interesting stuff.

donsgal

[zebraman]

Hey Guys;Contact www.nativeseed/search.org they sell 2-types of parching corn and alot of other Hopi type vegetables.Another really cool aspect of Native American Seed Saving is that they don't select for size,and you will be growing something much closer to what was grown a century ago.They have books on native culture and cooking.Also Piki Bread is Ceremonial and has almost No taste.Fry Bread on the other hand is a culinary Masterpiece!Also several of the older type Watermelons are Just Grown for their Oily Seeds.