Black and white sunflower seeds: history, beneficial and harmful properties. In America and the rest of the world
It is difficult to determine who was the first to grow sunflowers. Some give the palm to the Peruvian tribes, others to the Indians who lived in the territory of the current North American states of New Mexico and Arizona. Sunflower was grown here approximately 4 thousand years ago, which is confirmed by the finds of ubiquitous archaeologists. The Spaniards brought the sunny flower to Europe.
With the light hand of Peter I, the main supplier of European know-how, the sunflower began its journey across Russian soil, where the unpretentious plant was first loved for its beautiful flowers and tasty seeds, and after a relatively short period of time they began to use sunflower seeds to obtain oil. Despite the fact that the method of producing butter was invented by the British back in 1716, the world's first oil mill appeared in the 19th century in Russia.
Sunflower seeds are a kind of “depot” of substances necessary for the body. Nutrients, beneficial microelements and vitamins are hidden under their skin. Is it possible to find anything harmful in sunflower seeds, so generously awarded by nature? It's possible, but not much. If you indulge in seeds excessively, you may gradually destroy tooth enamel, damage your gums, and cause other oral problems. To avoid unpleasant consequences, you need to peel the seeds by hand. Those who want to get rid of excess weight should remember their high calorie content (100 grams - 520 kcal).
What are the benefits of sunflower seeds? Let's take a look below
Firstly, raw, slightly dried sunflower seeds are a source of vitamins E, C, D, carotene and B vitamins. It should be remembered that heat treatment destroys beneficial substances, so you should not expect any beneficial effects from fried seeds.
Secondly, the seeds contain microelements - magnesium, zinc, calcium, selenium. For example, 100 grams of seeds contain 311 mg of magnesium, which is 6 times higher than the content of this microelement in rye bread.
Thirdly, a small amount of seeds allows you to satisfy the daily need of the adult body for unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic, which are remarkably digestible and have the ability to normalize metabolic processes.
Sunflower seeds are considered a means of preventing such insidious diseases as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. The seeds help with liver diseases, speed up. They are recommended to be used after fractures and to restore strength after suffering infectious diseases. The substances contained in them have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. The very process of clicking seeds helps to relax and distract from anxious thoughts.
White sunflower seeds are not a breeding product, but a variety that nature itself created. The white, striped seeds of the sunny flower are very popular in Turkey and are called the pride of the Turkish coast. What distinguishes white seeds from their black counterparts is not only their color, large size and elongated shape. They have a harder husk, and the flavor of the roasted white sunflower seeds is slightly nutty.
I just recently tasted them myself, otherwise I had only read about them before. It was very interesting and... delicious!
It’s been 200 years since this white seed has been grown in Turkey. This is a natural, natural, and not an artificially grown selection product.
Why ? Exactly climatic conditions This country is perfect for its cultivation: heat during the day and fairly cool weather at night (temperature difference).
Workers cut all sunflowers by hand, since the fields occupied by sunflowers are not large (but numerous). They are also hand-knocked and undergo initial peeling. After the photo separator (it separates the white seeds from all other disseminated or striped ones), the seed is ready for the immediate preparation stage. Roasting the seeds is also not easy; it takes about 2 hours. It happens that during the roasting process, the seed changes color to yellowish, such a defect is immediately thrown away. The secret to frying Turks is to roll them in flour before, this way the salt holds on better. For its own consumption alone, it procures more than 100 thousand tons of white sunflower seeds per year.
For those who don’t know or haven’t tried it, I’ll try to explain the difference.
Distinctive features of white seeds in comparison with black ones:
She's bigger
Quite easy to clean
Doesn't get your hands dirty
It has low oil content (low fat content is important for those who are on a diet or for other reasons cannot eat the usual seeds),
Original subtle nutty taste,
Their shelf life is much longer (they don’t last long),
Accordingly, it does not lose its usefulness over a long period,
Contains beneficial amino acids,
Zinc (as you know, is essential for healthy hair and nails, good color faces),
Vitamin B (to give strength),
Vitamin D (for calcium absorption),
White seeds are an excellent antidepressant.
That's why Turkish white seeds are the pride of Turkey. As you can see, it’s not for nothing that the Turks are proud of their original (and not well known among us) seed. I advise you to try it too!
Sunflower seeds (not peeled) 100g
8 rub/100g
Sunflower seeds (hulled) 100g
30 rub/100g
Sometimes you really want to treat yourself to sunflower seeds. They are not only tasty, but also healthy. You can buy seeds for their high content of vitamin E, which is beneficial for the human biological system, protein necessary for muscle formation, antioxidants, and other substances essential for the body. For example, arginine, found in sunflower seeds, supports health of cardio-vascular system, strengthens arteries and blood vessels.
The seeds, which are inexpensive, are rich in vitamin B1, which can reduce the risk of thrombosis. Note the high content of vitamins A and D. The seeds contain minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese and selenium. The rich composition allows you to protect the human body from certain diseases, establish a balance of minerals for bone tissue and optimize the process of production of erythrocytes - red blood cells, without which it is difficult to imagine the normal functioning of the human biological system.
Where to buy raw seeds?
In Rogozhsky shopping arcades you will find products High Quality. When choosing seeds, please note that the price for them is per 1 kg. At the same time, it is not necessary to buy exactly this weight - you can purchase the quantity of goods that you need.
They can also be purchased by weight or in factory packaging. You can buy roasted, salted or unroasted seeds as a main product or for preparing any dish. They are often added to confectionery products, cakes, kozinaki, pastries, cold appetizers or salads.
Despite the fact that Russia now ranks first in the world in sunflower production, the sunflower seeds are not the national “snack” of Russians. They were brought to Russia in 1698, during the time of Peter the Great.
For a long time they were grown exclusively for beauty, then peasants began to crack the seeds, but only in 1829 in the village of Alekseevka (Voronezh province) a certain peasant Bokarev thought of squeezing the oil for the first time. Since it turned out that the production of sunflower oil promises greater benefits than the production of hemp or flaxseed oil, the product quickly spread throughout Russia. IN late XIX century, sunflower oil became the first most popular in the country.
The Bolsheviks are to blame
The habit of husking sunflower seeds remained a rural habit until the revolution, when everyone adopted it: revolutionary sailors, nobles, and even yesterday’s college girls. This was due to a lack of vitamins. Obviously, sunflower seeds relieved the lack of vitamin E and supplied people with vegetable protein and essential amino acids, which were also lacking. A young official of the Land Committee, Alexei Tatishchev, in his book of memoirs “People and Lands,” described this habit as harmful and was surprised at how quickly he himself became susceptible to it during the hard years of the revolution.
Having once entered the life of Russian people, this habit remained ineradicable for almost a hundred years - the reason for this, most likely, was the same difficult living conditions, hunger Civil War, then the hard times of the Great Patriotic War. Perhaps the nutritious seeds saved the life and health of many people, but at the same time became unpleasant for others bad habit. But is it really only Russians who husk their beloved seeds? It turns out not. In the CIS countries they are clicked with pleasure in Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. In Kazakhstan, seeds are a great love for the entire population.
In Europe
They love to crack seeds in the camps of Eastern Europe: in Bulgaria, in Serbia. In Belgrade, saucers with seeds are even in billiard clubs, which indicates a special passion for them among the Serbs. According to tourists, all Bulgarians enthusiastically husk sunflower seeds. They even go to the movies with sunflower seeds instead of popcorn. And on a date with a girl, at the entrance to the cinema, a Bulgarian can hand his passion a bag of “seeds”.
In Poland, seeds were cracked in the 1990s, but now this habit is on the decline. Albanians also gnaw the seeds. In France, the seeds can be served as a snack before a holiday dinner - along with nuts, celery and asparagus.
In Germany, Germans rarely chew seeds. True, tourists mention that in Berlin in Kreuzberg there is a special “seed” cafe, where people sit and crack large white seeds. But in this country, emigrants from countries are actively husking seeds North Africa, Middle East and “German Turks”, however, they try to do this secretly, since the habit is considered unpleasant and this should not be done when talking with other people.
In Spain, they eat seeds in front of the TV while watching matches of their favorite team, Real Madrid. They say that all stadiums are also strewn with husks, however, Spanish fans gnaw mostly white, salty seeds, which are inferior in taste to Russian black seeds. The Spaniards say that Russian military experts brought this habit to the country during the Spanish Civil War. In England, the seeds are sold in “Russian stores”; the British consider them “bird” food and think that they can cause poisoning.
But in Holland, the same country from where Peter the Great brought sunflowers to Russia, they do not eat unpeeled seeds - there is no such habit. And in stores they are sold exclusively peeled, but for some reason raw, and the price is quite high - €2.50 for 50 g. They don’t chew the “seeds” in Belgium either. In Greece, sunflower seeds are rarely chewed; more often they are fed to birds.
In America and the rest of the world
The seeds are also eaten in America. Bags of roasted sunflower seeds are sold in supermarkets on the shelves where popcorn and nuts are stored. According to the emigrants, “nobody sees anything exotic in them, honestly!” However, Americans do not crack them on the street; they eat them at home or add them to salads, but sell peeled seeds for this purpose.
The habit of husking seeds is common among students. American students believe that the seeds help “not fall asleep over the textbook.” But in general, such a habit is treated as an eccentricity, remember the series “The X-Files”, in which FBI agent Fox Mulder cracked sunflower seeds - for most Americans this is just a strange habit of eating birdseed, nothing more.
In Mexico, sunflower seeds are not chewed - they are sold already shelled and even salted. But here they happily husk pumpkin seeds.
In the Middle East, seeds are gnawing with pleasure. In Israel they are sold in shops and markets, but here even immigrants from the USSR try to behave civilly - they do it at home, in front of the TV, and not on the street, where you can get a fine of 300 shekels for spitting husks. Seeds are also cracked in Turkey; Here they are also sold salted.
In Asia, seeds are simply adored. China produces a lot of different sunflower seeds, but they often come with additives, which is a bit of a shock to Europeans. They love sunflower seeds in Vietnam.
In Australia, “seeds” are sold only in specialized stores for Arabs. The locals do not accept such pleasure.
There are funny superstitions and incidents associated with seeds. For example, circus clowns do not crack seeds, believing that this will reduce circus fees, Muslims consider cracking seeds to be disrespectful to their interlocutor, and in 2002, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Vladivostok, the city strictly banned the sale of seeds - apparently for the sake of clean sidewalks.
Peroxide value is a chemical indicator that reflects the degree of oxidative deterioration of an oil or fat. According to the Technical Regulations for Fat and Oil Products (TR TS 024/2011), the maximum peroxide value for vegetable oil should not exceed 10 mmol of active oxygen per kilogram (10.0 meq/kg) for first grade oil. Poorly refined and stale oil, or made from rancid seeds, has a higher peroxide number.
- Experts complained about the peroxide values of all tested products. The lower the peroxide number, the better, this indicates the freshness of the product. And, although this indicator is not standardized for roasted seeds, all seeds have a very high peroxide value compared to the standard for sunflower oil (≤10 meq/kg), and the excess of this standard is from 4 to 10 times. Since the use of this standard in in this case not entirely correct, let’s compare the sample indicators with the average value. So, the highest peroxide value of seeds "Kuban seeds"(81.3) and, especially, for seeds "Stepanovna"(98.9); in seeds "From Ataman" this indicator is at the average level (62.0). Below the average value of this indicator for seeds "From Martin"(42.4), and the lowest peroxide value of the sample "Granny's seeds"(34.1) - against the general background, exceeding the standard for vegetable oil by 3 times does not look so frightening.
- In general, seeds turned out to be the richest in vegetable oil content "Kuban" And "Babkins". Their oil content (the amount of oil that can be extracted from a sample of seeds) exceeds 52%. The lowest oil content is in the sample "Oh Martina"(41.63%). For seeds that are used as a snack, this indicator is not standardized, and which seeds to choose - with more or less oil content - depends more on your taste.