We have a bumper crop of sunflowers this year so we harvested them yesterday, but aren't sure what to do with them next. Does anyone know how to process them to where we can use them as snacks this winter? I assume you would boil them in salt water, but don't know for how long or what kind of salt solution. We would like to get them to taste similar to store-bought sunflower seeds. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

-- Jim the Window Washer (Rational@man.com), October 13, 1999

Answers

Don't boil them in salt water, soak them in cool salt water, drain, then spread them on a cookie sheet and bake them at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the seeds. You can do the same with pumpkin seeds too. Let them cool completely then seal in air-tight containers.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 13, 1999.

Thanks, Bardou.

-- Jim the Window Washer (Rational@man.com), October 13, 1999.

jim.....

we (my husband and i) are absolutely ADDICTED to sunflower seeds!

we buy them raw, in the shell, in 50# bags from the healthfood store......i don't think we could grow the amount we eat unless i had a few acres HA!

we don't like them salted, so i just bake them on a cookie sheet in a pre- heated 350: oven for about 18 minutes

just wanted to mention, tho........only salt and bake those that you're going to eat right away.......the shelf-life will be much longer if you keep the "main harvest" raw until you're ready to snack

hope this helps

-- andrea (mebsmebs@hotmail.com), October 13, 1999.

So what if you want to shell them and grind them up for flour? There's gotta be some kind of machine for that, right? I mean, it would take a LOOONG time to do it by hand.

I too have a lot of sunflowers, and they are the one crop we can grow around here suitable for making flour.

Any ideas???

Al

-- Al K. Lloyd (all@ready.now), October 14, 1999.