The Many Uses for the Sunflower Plant

It is believed that wild sunflowers covered thousands of square miles of land that is now the western United States. Sunflower remains have been found in North American archaeological sites dating from as early as 3,000 B.C. The center of origin for wild sunflowers is considered to be the Western Plains of North America, but the ancestors of the cultivated type have been traced to the Southwest or the Missouri-Mississippi River valley areas. The first breeders of sunflowers appear to be the Ozark Bluff dwellers who selected plants and seed for cultivation.

Archeological evidence suggests that Native Americans began cultivating and improving the sunflower as early as 2300 B.C. Thus, sunflower cultivation may predate cultivation of the "Three Sisters" of corn, beans and squash. The seeds of sunflower were usually roasted and ground into a fine meal for baking or used to thicken soups and stews. "Seed-balls", similar to peanut butter, made from sunflower butter made a convenient carry-along food for traveling. Roasted sunflower hulls were steeped in boiling water to make a coffee-like beverage. Dye was extracted from hulls and petals. Face paint was made from dried petals and pollen. Oil, extracted from the ground seeds by boiling, provided many tribes with cooking oil and hair treatment. Medicinal uses included everything from wart removal to snake bite treatment to sunstroke treatment.

When the colonists and explorers sent seed from the New World back to Europe, the sunflower was treated mainly as a curiosity and a garden flower. It was not used as an edible crop again until it reached Russia. In Russia, the Holy Orthodox Church forbade the use of many foods, including many rich in oil, during Lent and Advent. The Russians eagerly accepted the sunflower as an oil source that could be eaten without breaking the laws of the church.

Sunflower began as an important agronomic crop in the U.S. in the 1950s, starting in North Dakota and Minnesota.

In 1966, an open pollinated Russian bred cultivar was introduced into the U.S. This and other cultivars began the first sustained U.S. commercial production of the oil seed type of sunflower. Many research programs in the U.S. have improved the oil yield in sunflower hybrids. The sunflower now ranks second among all seed crops in the world as an important source of edible vegetable oil.

Sunflower seeds contain 55% protein (almost as much, by weight, as steak) and considerable quantities of B vitamins ... plus calcium, phosphorus, iron, nitrogen, and vitamins A and E. As an added bonus for weight watchers, the plant's seeds contain only 48 calories per tablespoon (as opposed to 85 calories for the same amount of peanuts.

The nutrients that are of quantity in sunflower seeds include protein, thiamine, Vitamin E, iron, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, and the essential fatty acids Linoleic acid and Oleic acid.

Sunflower seeds are higher in iron than any other food except egg yolks and liver. The potassium levels are similar to raisins, nuts, and wheat germ, with higher calcium levels than soybeans. This great proportion of nutrients in the seeds is believed to improve cardiovascular health. Their high proportion of potassium, but low sodium content, makes the sunflower seeds act as a diuretic, which helps to lower high blood pressure. The essential Linoleic acid is necessary for growth and prostaglandin production, and tests have shown it to be beneficial in reducing levels of serum cholesterol.

Raw sunflower kernels provide higher levels of nutrients than toasted seeds. Because raw sunflower seeds are high in phosphorous, eat them in small quantities to prevent loss of calcium.

Unsalted sunflower seed butter provides 164 calories for one ounce (28 grams) with 6 grams of protein. Total fat registers 13.5 grams with 1.4 grams saturated. Vitamin A content is 15 IU, while folic acid jumps to 67.3 mcg. The seed butter has a good range of B vitamins with the exception of the absence of B12. Calcium levels measure 34.6 mg, iron 1.3 mg, and magnesium 105 mg. There's even a good supply of zinc with 1.5 mg.

Mature sunflower seed sprouts are a rich source of chlorophyll noted for cleansing or detoxifying the liver and the blood. Chlorophyll benefits many functions within the body including building blood supply, revitalizing tissue, calming inflammation, activating enzymes, and deodorizing the body. Most commercial breath fresheners contain chlorophyll.

CAUTION:
Sunflower petals are NOT edible and are highly poisonous. Do not attempt to eat them or decorate foods with the petals.

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Wild sunflower seeds make delicious sprouts. Sprouts have a greater concentration of proteins, vitamins and minerals, enzymes, RNA, DNA, bio-flavinoids, T-cells, etc., than at any other point in the plant's life--even when compared with the mature vegetable.

HARVEST YOUR SEEDS in late fall when the stalks and flower heads are completely dry. Store the seeds in the freezer to help their germination. A wide mouth glass jar, a sprouting bag, potty soil, or a natural bamboo basket with shallow sides work well for sprouting sunflower seeds.

Sprouting can be accomplished with the shells intact or with the shells removed. The small, black oil-sprouting grade will produce the best, most abundant results. The striped shell variety is a little more labor intensive because the shells have to be removed by hand after the seeds have sprouted. Delicious sunflower sprouts can be harvested in 8 to 12 days and stored in the refrigerator.

SPROUTING JAR

Use a large clear glass jar. Sunflower sprouts do best when given the opportunity to grow tall, about 4 to 6-inches in height. They shouldn't be cramped into a small jar that will inhibit their growth. Start by putting some seeds in the jar, filling it with water and covering the top with cheesecloth covered by a rubber band. Soak the seeds overnight. The next day, drain off the water and rinse the sprouts again. Lay the jar on its side at an angle with the mouth of the jar resting lower to allow for drainage. Rinse sprouts 3 times a day, drain, and lay the jar on its side. There is no need to remove the cheesecloth to rinse the sprouts.

A SPROUTING BAG

Shelled sunflower seeds can be soaked overnight in a bowl with enough water to cover them. Next morning, drain off the water, rinse the seeds, put them into a sprouting bag ideally made from linen, and sprout for two days at room temperature. The sprouting bag prevents the seeds from oxidizing and turning brown like cut up apples and pears. The sprout bag also keeps the sprouts perfectly moist while easily draining off excess liquid. Rinse the sprouts two or three times a day, and hang the bag over the faucet or lay on a dish drainer rack to drain. Refrigerate the sprouted seeds.

SPROUTING IN SOIL

Purchase two aluminum foil pans, one about 9-inches by 13-inches, the other a little larger to act as the drip pan. Use an ice pick or pointed nail to punch holes in the smaller pan. Then put a 1-inch layer of potting soil in the smaller pan. Soak the sunflower seeds with shells overnight, and drain the next morning. Arrange the seeds over the soil, cover with a layer of wet newspapers, and set the smaller pan into the larger one. Keep the newspapers moist, lifting each day to check the progress of the seeds. When you notice little sprouts emerging from the shells, remove the newspapers and provide plenty of light and warmth. Keep the soil moist. After several days you'll notice leaves begin to form at the tip of the sprout stem.

A SPROUT BASKET

Start by soaking about 6 tablespoons of the seeds overnight. If any seeds float, stir them into the water. Next day, drain off all the water and put the seeds into a loosely woven natural bamboo basket that has not been treated, painted, or coated with shellac. Create a loose tent with a plastic bag that is larger than the basket and can be zipped closed. Put the basket with the seeds inside the tent and zip closed. Remove and rinse about 3 times daily under a spray faucet and return to the tent. While light is important for developing the green leaves of the maturing sprouts, the seeds will do best with indirect light. In hot weather, it may be helpful to leave the end of the tent open for improved air circulation.

Sunflowers grown in home gardens are divided into two categories - Helianthus and edible seed types. Helianthus are grown for their decorative flowers. They come in many colors and sizes. Gardeners can choose a dwarf (15 inches high) fully double, golden chrysanthemum type, or a 4 foot pure yellow or white Helianthus with shades of primrose. The tallest Helianthus, 5 to 6 feet, provides the widest color range - yellow, gold, bronze, mahogany red, and bicolor blooms. These flowers do produce seeds if left on the plant, but they are small and probably best left for wildlife.

The most widely grown variety for edible seeds is Mammoth. First offered in the 1880s by a U.S. seed catalog, it was listed as Mammoth Russian. One of the tallest sunflowers, Mammoth is most often used to produce prize-winning seed heads. New cultivars have been introduced that are shorter (only 6 feet), earlier (68 days), and that have been bred for disease tolerance.

Sunflowers are easy to grow provided they have direct sun. Well-prepared, fertile soil will yield large flower heads and the meatiest seeds. Young seedlings can withstand light frosts so seeds can be planted before May 1. Tall growing varieties should be thinned to stand 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart in the garden and staked to help support the seedhead under windy conditions.

Sunflowers do not have particular soil or climate needs. They grow in hot deserts such as the Mojave, the swamps in Florida, and the woodlands in the Pacific Northwest. They need loose, fertile soil that offers good drainage, and many days of sunshine. Most sunflowers are drought resistant but will thrive best if watered about once a week, especially in dry climates. To preserve moisture, provide a 3 to 4-inch layer of mulch.

Sunflowers are considered excellent companion plants when planted in vegetable gardens, because they draw beneficial insects to the garden to keep the pesty bugs out.

The sunflower has few enemies; most common are the stem borer and stem maggot, rust, and powdery mildew. The stem borer and stem maggot can both be quite destructive as they burrow into the stem, killing all vegetation above the point of entry. Clean garden practices are the best prevention.

Sunflower plants are self-seeding because of the many seeds that drop to the ground, remain dormant over the winter, then sprout in the spring. However, if you choose to create your own hybrid cultivar, plant two very different varieties at the same time. Remember that the florets (the seeded area from which the petals radiate) mature and open from the outside to the inside progressively. As the flowers begin to open, they are releasing pollen. This is the best time to cross-pollinate.

While 20 varieties of sunflowers are annuals, thirty cultivars are perennials that live for several years. The most well known perennial in the sunflower family is the Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke, H. tuberosus. Though sunchokes add pleasant variety to a tossed salad, they have a tendency to take over the vegetable garden. Their texture is moist and crisp, similar to jicama, while their flavor is delicately sweet. Plant Jerusalem artichokes in a separate bed where they will not affect other plants.

When planting sunflowers for the birds to enjoy, keep in mind that small birds especially enjoy the smaller sunflower varieties with their tiny, more manageable seeds.

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Harvesting can be accomplished by either of two methods. The first is to cover the seed head with cheesecloth or nylon netting and allow the seeds to thoroughly dry on the plant. The covering protects the seeds from the birds.

The second method is to cut the mature head from the plant with about a foot of the stem attached. Hang in a dry location away from mice, rats, or insects. Placing a paper bag with small air holes in it may be helpful for catching the seeds that may fall as they dry.

When the backs of the heads have turned completely brown and there's no trace of green left, the seeds have fully matured and are ready to be removed. When the seeds are dry, rub the seed head to release the seeds. You can also remove the seeds with a stiff-wire brush, fish scaler, or similar tool. But if you're working with more than just a few flowers, you may want to stretch and nail a piece of half-inch-mesh hardware cloth over a wooden box, and gently rub the flower heads over the screen. The seeds will fall through the mesh and collect in the container.

If you find that a number of the seeds are still somewhat "green", spread them out on a newspaper and let them dry a little longer. Then, once the seeds are completely free of moisture, you can store them in small covered jars (they'll heat up and lose nutritional value if kept together in large quantities). Stir the seeds every couple of weeks to keep them from becoming musty.

The edible nutmeats inside sunflower seeds lose their vitamins when exposed to the air for any length of time, so it's a good idea to shell the food only as you need it. Roasted seeds eaten as a snack, of course, are cracked open and popped into the mouth individually, just as nuts are. But if you're going to use quantities of the raw kernels for cooking, you'll have to adopt a more productive method.

One good technique is to soak the seeds in cold water for several hours. The husks eventually soften, and can then be removed quite easily. Or, you can spread the seeds between two layers of newspaper, and crush the hulls with an old-fashioned rolling pin.

Another method is revealed in Euell Gibbons' book, Stalking The Wild Asparagus. "I discovered that if the seeds were run through a food chopper fitted with a plate barely large enough to prevent the seed going through whole," writes Euell, "the shells would be cracked off." Mr. Gibbons then dumped the crushed hull-and-kernel mixture into a large bowl of water, and let it stand for half an hour. The light outer coverings floated to the top of the liquid and were skimmed off ... and the heavy kernels, which stayed at the bottom, were poured into a piece of muslin, squeezed, spread on a baking sheet, and dried in a slow oven.

This process was Euell's way of getting ready to make a flour-like sunflower seed meal. When the crushed kernels are dry, pass them through a sieve, and save the pieces that won't go through for use as nuts in cookies and such. The portion which is small enough to come out the other side can then be put through a food chopper using the finest plate attachment possible, or a grain mill. You'll now have a supertasty high-protein meal that can be used as an "extender" in meat loafs and similar dishes ... and as a substitute for some of the flour in baking recipes.

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COMMERCIAL SUNFLOWER SEED GROWERS have been able to achieve a high productivity of sunflowers that are pest resistant and have seeds with very high oil content. This is due to the variety H. annuus that has been crossed with H. petiolaris to produce sunflowers that do not contain pollen.

A RECENT SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH by the Institute of Food Research may have uncovered an emulsifier in the sunflower seed's protein that can bind oil-based food ingredients with water-based food ingredients that may in time replace the familiar, well-established dairy-based protein known as casein.

This could have a major impact on the food industry. Food companies would have to reformulate their recipes, but the benefit may be worth the effort since sunflower seed protein may not create the allergy problems attributed to dairy-based casein.

AFTER THE 1986 ACCIDENT AT THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR PLANTin the former Soviet Union, sunflowers grown on floating Styrofoam were used to clean up contaminated water. The roots of the sunflower plants remove 95% of the radioactivity by pulling contaminants out of the water. Now scientists are looking into the commercial potential of these plants to clean up polluted mining areas; it's hoped that one-day they could be harvested and processed for metals themselves.

SUNFLOWERS AS BIODEISEL.Sunflower is a high oil content seed and average yields can produce 600 pounds of oil per acre, considerably more than soybeans. There is a great deal of interest from local areas for construction of small processing facilities for sunflower biodiesel production.

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