Sunflower seed
Helianthus annuus · Seed
1 varietyTop 10 pairings
Sunflower seeds are the edible fruits of the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), each a teardrop kernel sheathed in a hard, often black-and-white striped hull. Mild, nutty and pleasantly oily, they are cracked and eaten by the handful, roasted and salted as a snack, baked into breads and granola, churned into sunflower butter and — above all — crushed into one of the world's leading cooking oils.
Picking a good onedrag
Plump grey-green kernel, sweet and nuttyYellowed, bitter, smells of old paint
Pantry seedEveryday bestToast it dry until it smells of popcorn, then into bread, granola or a dressing. Crack in-shell seed and spit the hulls: swallowed they can choke or chip a tooth.
The kernel's colourGrey-green with a few paler or ivory kernels in it
Smell a pinchClean but quiet, the nuttiness gone faint
Hull, or no hullBare kernels, whole and uniform, hardly any split
Run a handful through your fingersDry, a little hull chaff and seed dust coming off