Are seeds in melons and other fruits good to eat?

In Northern India, we eat Musk Melon and Water Melon seeds. In fact they are used like nuts. We make sweet dish too.
The de-kernelling process is done by hand at home, which is quite lengthy.

We deseed melon. Put the seeds to dry for approximatively 2 days; with fingers or tweezers, break the kernel and get the yummy seed. Of course, it can be stored for months, if dried properly, and for years, if kept in freezer.

There are a few seeds which are good to eat. These generally get sold in the supermarket (pumpkin seeds, apricot kernels). If you buy the fruit containing them, you can keep the seeds.

If you want to store them, you should dry them first. Spread the cleaned seeds in a single layer on paper and put it in a warm dry place (not in direct sunlight), and wait a few days. You should deshell them right before consuming, that way they keep longer. If you want to eat them right away, don't dry them. They taste better when fresh. Some should be roasted in the shell before eaten (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds).

There is little sense in eating seeds not commonly sold in supermarkets, like melon seeds or apple pips. They don't have any nutritional value for humans, or taste bad (e.g. very bitter), or both. It is even dangerous to experiment too much. For example, peach kernels contain poisonous cyanide compounds. So stick to what is commonly eaten, there is a reason the other seeds aren't used.

My wife's family is from Peru and they tend to eat the seeds of things that I would typically avoid. Look at fruits like grenadillas or tunas (more commonly known here as the prickly pear) and the granada (pomegranate). I had a friend who used to eat the entire apple and, while the seeds are considered poisonous it would take a large amount to affect you. All of this said, I don't like the texture of the seeds so use your judgement and do a bit of research. You may find that the seeds add an interesting element to your foods.

The accepted answer says that seeds not commonly sold in stores have no nutrition, are bitter, or are poisonous. This is incorrect.

Watermelon, cantaloupe, apple, peach, apricot, and so forth seeds are packed full of nutrients; even more than most commercially sold seeds.

Watermelon seeds are one of my top favorites, and are loaded with vital compounds, one being zinc. They are crunchy, and taste nutty. They are delicious!

Cantaloupe seeds have been eaten by other cultures for years, and studies show they are full of good stuff too.

Also, apricot seeds which are bitter, are said to be poisonous because they contain hydrogen cyanide. Although this is true, it is such a small dose that it takes 70 apricot kernels to be lethal [editors note: probably mean lethal dose in full sized adults].

Many cultures, like turkey adore apricot seeds; they simply don't eat too many. Studies also show that the small amount of cyanide is beneficial to our immune systems.

Do you know that apple, cherry, peach, apricot, almond or anything else in this family produces cyanide? Guess what cyanide tastes like? Almonds! That's right, our beloved almonds contain cyanide too!

I used the seeds of a honeydew melon in my daily green power smoothie. I found pulverized in the high powered blender made the bitter kale taste disappear.

Pumpkin seeds roasted with a little of salty water is a great (and commonly sold and home made in México) snack. They are also used along with sunflower seeds in preparing some hot sauces and Mole (the hard way). Seeds of Cantaloupe (melon) and Watermelon can be blendend along with their edible parts to strengthen flavor and keep freshness when preparing fruit flavored/fresh water ("Agua fresca"). When watermelon seeds are really small, you can eat and chew them along with the fruit: they are usually sweet.

There's no harm in eating the fruits of a melon, or fruit. It just passes through your system completely.

You probably can't store them for future usage, as only ripe seeds are eaten, and most seeds from a melon don't ripen until the melon rots.

If you are able to find watermelons with seeds in your local market or supermarket,you’re in luck,but if you can’t,I suggest you to buy the seeds of them... My recipe is to use the watermelon seeds and blend them with your seedless watermelon(2 or 3 slices of them) and turn on your Ninja or Nutribullet... You won’t regret,it tastes delicious and you’ll have a really healthy prostate. ?

When it comes to pumpkins, there's a variety called kakai that has hull-less seeds, easier to prepare and good to eat (the flesh is quite good too). Melon seeds can be treated in the same way. Melons and pumpkinsa are in fact very closely related.

You can simply clean and dry them, but generally they're nicer toasted in the oven, perhaps with some spice (or salt, or honey). Once very dry, or toasted, they will keep for months in an airtight container in a cool place, though if I toast homegrown pumpkin seeds they're normally eaten in a week.