Sunflower Seed

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Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seed is produced by Helianthus annuus, an annual plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. The sunflower produces a large flower head in which the seeds are developed. The flower head can reach a size if 30 centimeters in diameter, but many sunflower types form smaller flower heads. The most common sunflower type has a gray striped sunflower seed and the shell is quite hard. The Mammoth Russian is one of the largest sunflower plants and can grow up to 12 feet tall. It produces a well tasting striped sunflower seed with a thin shell. In bird food mixes, you will typically find black varieties of sunflower seed since they offer the birds more energy by having higher oil content.

The sunflower will display a behavior called heliotropism where the flower head always turn to face the sun. Francisco Pizarro, the European explorer, writes about how the Inca population views the round and yellow sunflower as a symbol for the God of the Sun. Helianthus, the first part of the Latin name for sunflower, is derived from the Greek words “helios”, which means sun, and “anthos”, which means flower.

The sunflower originates from the Americas and was domesticated as early as 1000 B.C. When the Europeans moved to the American continents they rapidly began to appreciate the tasty and nutritious sunflower seed. Today, sunflowers grow all over the world and the sunflower seed is uses for a wide variety of purposes. They have a mild and nut-like taste that is ideal for salads, breads and muffins. By grinding the sunflower seeds, chefs produce a fine mix that is used as coating for chicken breasts, fish and other dishes. Sunflowers can also be enjoyed as a snack; raw or roasted. Some people like to soak the seeds in salty brine before eating them, while others perk them up even further using chili, garlic, lemon juice or other types of spicy additions. If you salt directly on the sunflower seed, some type of oil is usually necessary to make the salt stick to the seed.

A sunflower seed will contain around 40 percent fat, 24 percent protein and 20 percent carbohydrates. Just as most other seeds, the fat content is high, but the fat found in seeds are generally considered more healthy by the medical profession than animal fat. In addition to fat, protein and carbohydrates, the sunflower seed is also a rich source of magnesium, zinc and vitamin E.

The sunflower seed is used to produce sunflower oil which is used for cooking and as carrier oil. Carrier oil is oil used to dilute absolutes and essential oils before they are used externally in aromatherapy. Carrier oils can also be mixed with herbs. Carrier oil is sometimes referred to as base oil, since it forms the base of the aromatic treatments. The sunflower seed can also be used to produce bio diesel and latex. There are currently several projects going on where scientists try to produce high-quality hypoallergenic rubber from the sunflower seed.

Birds and many other animals love to snack on the energy rich sunflower seed and sunflower seed is found in many types of commercially available animal food. The cake that is left when the seeds have been harvested is used as food for livestock.

When purchasing sunflower seed or reading about it, you will usually encounter the terms “seed” and “kernel”. Kernel is a seed where the hull has been removed. Kernels are sold raw as well as roasted, and can also be salted, coated with oil and/or spiced when sold as snack. The term seed is broader and is used for the entire seed, including the shell, as well as for kernels. “In-shell” refers to a seed where the shell is still left. In-shells can also be obtained raw as well as roasted, and they can have been soaked in salt, coated with oil and/or seasoned. Many people love the meditative sensation of slowly consuming an entire bag of in-shells one at the time by cracking the seed, eating the inner part and spitting out the shell.