Sunflower Seeds – Gathering, Cooking, Eating
January 28, 2009
Growing sunflowers have two great advantages. The first is that they are pretty. I don’t think anyone will contest that.
The second is that they produce sunflower seeds if pollinated sufficiently. As well as being convenient to eat, they also possess an array of health benefits.
Towards the end of last season, when the head of the sunflower looked decidedly downbeat, we decapitated it and stored the head in newspaper to dry out. (No more personification I promise!) Upon opening the newspaper now, the head is dry and disintegrates allowing the seeds to be picked out easily.
There are a number of ways that the seeds can be used in cooking but my personal favourite is toasting them. The seeds can be toasted under a grill, or even in the oven, but I find the best way to keep an eye on them is to have them in a frying pan on the hob. The main danger is in burning them as the time between toasted and overdone can be very short, depending on the heat.
So, the method is:
- Put seeds in dry pan (optional salt, no oil).
- Cook on a lowish heat, tossing occasionally to ensure all round toastiness. This usually takes somewhere around 15 minutes, depending on heat.
- As soon as seeds are evenly golden, remove from pan.
More ambitious (read: “impatient”) people might want to toast on a slightly higher heat though you have to be pretty sharp with getting the seeds off the heat as soon as they are done. The same technique applies to most nuts such as pine, peanut (a legume I know!) and cashew.
After toasting the kernel must be removed from the black and white husk (colour may very for different types). Alternatively, the husk can be removed before toasting. The toasted kernels can then be used for example in salads or stir-fries. Toasting seeds before adding them into another dish helps bring out their flavour. I find that nuts added straight into, say a stir-fry, end up tasting a bit bland. They can also be eaten as a salted snack where the eater removes them from the husk much like a pistachio.
4 Responses
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Hey Adam,
Class idea with the sunflowers. I must try growing them myself as we are constantly buying the seeds for salads and stuff.
Do you fancy having some more herbs? I’ve got sage, thyme and oregano you can have if you wish.
Cheers,
Lorna
Hey,
I am definitely in the market for a sage plant. I am fine for thyme and have tiny oreganos that I am nurturing. Maybe we could swap you a rosemary or parsley?
Adam
Oh have rosemary and parsley thanks. No worries about it, I’ve got loads of sage you are more than welcome to have a plant.
Lorna
Great – I’ll have to call over and raid your garden at some stage!! I’ll let you know if we have any any leftovers in the next couple of months before I go peddling them on Freecycle.