We love incorporating our freshly roasted seeds into the Soft and Chewy Granola Bars and the Chicken Salad with Rice, Oranges, and Snow Peas. You can eat the seeds on their own, or you can utilize them in your favorite recipes. We have also heard that many of our readers have had success roasting sunflower seeds in the air fryer! Try out this method by air frying them at 350° for 7 to 8 minutes and giving the basket a shake when they are halfway done. Roast the seeds to enhance their flavor, and lightly brown them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 300☏ for about 15 minutes. Store seeds in airtight glass jars in the refrigerator to retain flavor. Once dried, you can eat the seeds alone, mixed with dried fruit, added to salads, or even used in place of nuts for baking. Allow the seeds to dry overnight on a paper towel. When the seeds are thoroughly dried (after a few weeks), dislodge them by rubbing two heads together, rubbing the seeds with your hand, or using a stiff brush. Keep the heads covered as described above. In this case, cut the stalks about a foot below the heads when the outer seeds are mature and hang the heads upside down in a warm, dry place that is well-ventilated and protected from rodents and insects. Then, just cut the stem an inch below the heads.īut some folks want to beat the critters and dry indoors. It’s best to wait and let the seeds dry completely on the stem. Image credit: Hirurg/Getty How to Harvest Sunflower Seeds While you’re waiting for your sunflowers to mature enough to harvest, make sure you protect them from critters. Once you notice the petals wilting, cover the sunflower heads with brown paper bags, fine netting, mesh, perforated plastic bags, or cheesecloth. Use a twist tie or rubber band to secure the bag so the seeds don’t fall out. Pull a few seeds to see if they have developed. If the seeds are still milky white they are not mature. The seeds are hardened and turn black with white stripes.If most of the petals are still attached, leave the sunflower alone. The tiny petals covering the developing seeds have dried and fallen off, exposing tightly-packed mature seeds.If it’s still green, it’s not close to ready. The large heads begin to droop and turn down. The backside of the head should turn yellow-brown.It’s important to be able to recognize when the sunflower seeds are close to harvest. Once opened, the bottle should be refrigerated to avoid rancidity. The truly stable ones come in a dark bottle and are cold-pressed and unrefined. Sunflower oil is one of the few vegetable oils that is fairly stable. They are very fragile once they have been removed from their shells, so always purchase them in the shell or from a refrigerated source. They’re packed with calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Sunflower seeds contain many nutrients and the best seeds come fresh from the flower head. Isn’t it amazing to think that these giant flower heads start from one little seed?! About Sunflower Seeds and Oils How to Grow Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, and Easy Grains
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