How2Day: What Are Sunflower Seeds Good For?

The flower head of the sunflower plant can grow to more than 1 foot in diameter. The sunflower seeds grow in the center of the disk-like flower head, with one flower head producing up to 1,000 seeds. The seeds have multiple uses, with the most obvious being a food source for humans and wildlife alike.

Between 10 to 20 percent of sunflower production in the United States goes into snack products, according the United States Department of Agriculture. Consumers purchase sunflower seed snacks with and without the shell, mixed with fruits or nuts, and baked in products like breads and granola bars. Sunflower seeds make a crunchy salad garnish or tasty addition to other recipes.

Eighty percent of the sunflower crop's value goes to edible oil, according to the "Alternative Field Crops Manual," posted by University of Wisconsin Extension. Sunflower crops are a major source of vegetable oil, which is used to make salad oil, cooking oil and margarine. Seeds produced commercially typically contain 39 to 49 percent of oil. Sunflower oil has a low level of saturated fats. It has a mild flavor and light color and can withstand high cooking temperatures.

Feed for poultry, swine, and farm animals with four stomach chambers is made from sunflowers seeds with the shells, or from partly de-hulled seeds. It has higher fiber yet less energy value than meal made from soybean, and is higher in methionine and lower in lysine. Meal from de-hulled seeds tends to be higher in fiber than meal made from non-hulled seeds. Whole in the shell seeds are also used as bird seed.

In some areas with high sunflower production (such as Eastern Europe), sunflower oil is used to make soaps and detergents. Sunflower oil, like other vegetable oils, may be used to make fabric softeners, lubricants, adhesives, surfactants, agrichemicals, coatings and as a pesticide carrier. Yet, it is not always a financially feasible use of the product. Sunflower oil contains 93 percent of the energy of some diesel fuel, making it a potential alternative energy for the future.

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