Sunflower seed

The sunflower is a fast-growing annual that can reach more than three metres, topped by a large flower head made up of hundreds of tiny florets surrounded by yellow petal-like rays. Each fertile floret develops into a seed, technically a fruit called an achene, enclosed in a fibrous hull that may be solid black, grey or striped. The edible kernel inside is pale, tender and mildly nutty. Types are grown either for oil, with small black seeds, or for confectionery use, with larger striped seeds eaten as snacks. Young sunflower heads track the sun, a behaviour called heliotropism.

Sunflowers are native to North America. Archaeological evidence shows that Indigenous peoples in eastern North America were domesticating the sunflower by about 4,000 years ago, possibly among the first plants cultivated in the region. Spanish explorers took seeds to Europe in the sixteenth century, where the plant was first an ornamental. It was then developed as an oil crop in Russia and Ukraine in the nineteenth century, and these regions remain the largest producers today, along with Argentina, Romania, China and others.

Native peoples used sunflower seeds for food, oil and flour, as well as dye from the petals and fibres from the stalks. The plant was an important element of the agriculture of many Plains and eastern nations. After reaching Europe, it spread widely as a garden flower, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Russian farmers and Orthodox customs that restricted other oils during Lent encouraged oil production. Russian plant breeders greatly improved oil content during the 1800s and 1900s.

Seeds from the improved Russian cultivars returned to North America in the twentieth century and fuelled the modern sunflower industry. High-oleic and mid-oleic varieties were bred in more recent decades for oils that are more stable in cooking. Sunflower is also associated with art, notably Vincent van Gogh's paintings, and with national symbolism in Ukraine.

Hulled kernels are eaten raw or roasted as a snack, sprinkled on salads, yoghurt and cereals, baked into bread and granola, and ground into sunflower seed butter, a common nut-free spread. In-shell seeds are cracked and eaten as a popular snack in many countries. Sunflower oil is used for frying, salad dressings and margarines. Sprouted seeds are used in salads. Presscake from oil extraction is used as animal feed, and the hulls serve as fuel or bedding.

Sunflower kernels are a rich source of vitamin E, as well as thiamine, folate, selenium, magnesium, copper and manganese. Most of the fat is unsaturated, mainly linoleic and oleic acid, depending on the variety. They provide protein and fibre. Because they are energy dense, a small handful of about 30 grams is a sensible portion. Unsalted or lightly salted seeds are better for those watching sodium, and in-shell seeds tend to be eaten more slowly, but their salt coating can add up.