News

Details

Written by: Lake County News Reports

Published: 23 September 2012

I have fallen in love with a new flavor, one whose name belies its wicked deliciousness. Roasted sunflower butter is the culprit that has stolen my affection.
 
Full of nutrition, it does live up to that healthy-sounding name, but watch out, as it’s also sinfully flavorful and extravagant.
 
As a fan of all kinds of nut and seed butters – peanut, almond, cashew, sesame, you name it – I was a bit surprised that (at least for me) roasted sunflower butter eclipses each of them, and by a wide margin.
 
It’s so good that I’m actually salivating as I write. Believe me, if its creamy goodness were in the house, I’d be penning this with an oozing spoonful in my hand.
 
Nut butter aside, I simply love sunflowers just as flowers. Those big optimistic heads, the mad fringe of bright yellow, the towering stalks, the awkward weighty presence – all of this just does something to me.
 
In my mind they’re the dolphins of the plant world – here to remind us to lighten up a bit, to cultivate joy, to walk on the sunny side of life.
 
They spend the day following the sun after all, their heads turning to the warmth and light of our marvelous day star, and if that’s not a metaphor for living, I don’t know what is.
 
Acres of them are cultivated a county or two over along the I-5 corridor, and I always enjoy seeing their bright, bobbing heads stretch out over the fields as I trek up or down that otherwise monotonous stretch of highway. (To be honest, I feel rather disappointed if they’re out of season and unable to brighten my journey.)
 
This charmingly sanguine flora grows in many temperate regions of the world, including in North America, where the American Indians enjoyed them as a significant part of their diet for at least 3,000 (and possibly as many as 5,000) years. Not only did they use the seeds as a food and oil source, the flowers, roots, and stems were employed for varied purposes, including as a dye.
 
Sunflowers are thought to have originated in Mexico and Peru, and were one of the first plants cultivated in the United States.
 
They’re now beloved throughout the world, popular in areas as varied as the Middle East, Asia, the Mediterranean region, and Eastern Europe.
 
The world’s largest consumer of sunflower seeds is – surprisingly – Russia, mainly because of their love of sunflower oil, which is the cooking medium of choice in that country.
 
Sunflower seeds are between 20 – 50 percent oil, with the higher range belonging to seeds with black husks, known as black oil sunflower seeds.  Sunflower varieties with these oil-rich seeds are also referred to as oilseed sunflower crops, as they’re typically grown for oil production.
 
Another 20 percent of the make-up of sunflower seeds is a high-quality protein, a benefit to us when we snack on them. When the seeds are pressed for oil, the by-product, a protein-rich meal, is used as livestock feed.
 
Sunflower seeds with striped husks are used primarily for food and therefore are called “confectionary” sunflower seeds.
 
They’re a great snack roasted or raw, and are also a wonderful addition to all kinds of baked goods, with my favorite sunflower-enhanced product being hearty whole grain bread.
 
My second favorite may be granola cereal or bars, as both benefit from the addition of these nutty seeds.

 
Sunflower seeds are great to have on hand to toss on salads and soups, as are gangly sunflower sprouts, which add heightened nutrition to food because of chemical changes that take place during the sprouting process. (Powerful enzymes are activated when plants sprout, and vitamin content is increased, in some cases fivefold or higher.)
 
There are a variety of other ways to add them creatively to foods. Toss them in pasta, over pizza, or into the filling for stuffed bell peppers. They’re great with strongly flavored cheeses and Greek-inspired flavorings.
 
Roll bite-sized soft cheese balls in them for a fun appetizer, or encrust meats such as lamb with the seeds.
 
In our house we toss them on all kinds of things – chili, baked potatoes, salads, soups.
 
A friend makes an immensely tasty salad dressing using sunflower butter, tossing it with apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. It’s that simple, and it tastes fantastic on greens.
 
The fun thing about sunflowers seeds is that they may be harvested from flowers grown in your backyard. There are all types of sunflower plants, and though most develop a single large head atop a tall stalk, there are multi-headed and short stature varieties, too. Some have faces more than a foot across.
 
Seeds should be harvested when the flower heads have turned brown in back, the petals are dry, and the seeds are plump and mature. Allowing the sunflower heads to dry on the stalk is one option, but if you’re concerned that squirrels or birds will do a little harvesting themselves, you might consider cutting the heads off (with about 12 inches of stalk attached) and drying them in a garage or shed.
 
Another cure for unwelcome munching is to cover sunflower heads with a paper bag or cheesecloth. A paper bag may also be employed for catching seeds if drying upside down off the stalk.
 
After the harvest, seeds should be soaked in a salt water solution prior to roasting.
 
I found a great instructional video online about the logistics of harvesting and enjoying a backyard sunflower crop, and I’ve posted it below. If you’re considering growing your own sunflowers, the video should help a great deal with some harvesting and roasting basics.
 
It’s good to know there are very few insects that attack sunflowers, making them very easy to grow organically. They thrive almost anywhere that has sufficient sun and reasonable soil, making them an easy project for the home garden.
 
You’ll have access to other edible parts of sunflowers if growing them yourself. For example, their oversized flower buds may be steamed like artichokes and the petals can be used like calendula or chrysanthemum petals. (Try tossing them in salads.)
 
Sunflowers are so high in vitamin E that a one ounce handful provides a whopping 76 percent of our daily requirement. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant that assists in preventing the build-up of plaque in our arteries.
 
The same serving provides access to needed minerals (25 percent of our requirement for copper and 20 percent of pantothenic acid, for example), as well as good stores of folate, vitamin B6, iron, zinc, and selenium.
 
As with other nuts and seeds, storage in an airtight container in the fridge is best, as high fat content can promote rancidity. Sunflower seeds (raw or roasted) may be frozen for up to a year.
 
If you’ve got raw hulled seeds and wish to roast them, the oven method works well. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for five to seven minutes in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven until slightly browned with a nutty aroma.
 
Today I offer two recipes, both from a lovely-sounding organization called the National Sunflower Association. The first, a muffin recipe, features carrots, golden raisins, and the heady flavor of cardamom as companions to sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is also used in the recipe.
 
The second, caramelized sunflower kernels, makes a tasty treat to eat out of hand, but can be sprinkled over other foods, such as sweet potatoes or delicate acorn squash. My recommendation is to double or triple this recipe!
 
I’ll leave you with a quote from Helen Keller: “Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.”
 
Enjoy, and happy Sunday!
 
Carrot-cardamom muffins

Sunflower oil for oiling muffin tins
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cugar
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ cup golden raisins
¾ cup orange juice
1 cup finely grated carrots
1 egg
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
½ cup dry roasted, lightly salted sunflower kernels
 
Lightly coat muffin pan with sunflower oil and preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
Combine dry ingredients and raisins. Mix together orange juice, carrots, egg, and oil; gently stir wet ingredients into dry. Add sunflower kernels gradually, being careful not to over mix.
 
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden. Let cool in pan about 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
 
Makes 12 muffins when using a standard muffin pan.
 
Caramelized sunflower kernels

1/3 cup sunflower kernels
2 tablespoons brown sugar
 
Heat sunflower kernels in a non-stick skillet about 3 minutes over medium heat.
 
Stir in the brown sugar, stirring constantly until melted and kernels are coated.
 
Turn out onto waxed paper to cool.
 
Use as a snack or sprinkle on salads, fruit, sweet potatoes, or winter squash.
 
Makes four servings.

Esther Oertel, a freelance writer, cooking teacher, and speaker, is passionate about local produce and all foods in the vegetable kingdom. She welcomes your questions and comments and may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .