Edible Lupine Seeds

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Plants of the legume family have been well known to people since ancient times and are actively used to prepare delicious and hearty dishes. Among them are such old acquaintances as peas, beans, common beans, soybeans, which have recently become fashionable. As for the plants of the Lupine genus, they are more familiar to Russian gardeners as decorative, decorating front gardens and the background of mixborders. Not so many Russians know that the seeds of many species of Lupine, which is a representative of the glorious legume family, are good for food and have a number of qualities useful for the human body. The roots, stems, leaves and flowers of the plant have healing powers

The new is the forgotten old

Unpretentious Lupine can be found on any continent, excluding icy Antarctica. Such ubiquity could not fail to attract the attention of a person who began his life on the planet with a search for plants suitable for human consumption.

The peoples who inhabited the Andean highlands in South America, six thousand years ago, used the seeds of some species of Lupine for food. And although Lupine seeds never had the same status as peas, beans, soybeans, they were widely cultivated by these peoples.

The species "Lupinus mutabilis" ("Lupine mutable"), known among the American aborigines as "chocho" or "tarwi" before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, was grown in South America (including in the Inca Empire it was a widespread food) without any deliberate genetic improvements. The only thing that was done over such a long period was the choice in favor of larger and more permeable seeds.

Since the seeds contain bitter alkaloids, they were soaked in running water before cooking, which can remove most of the bitterness. Then the seeds were roasted or boiled, and also dried for future use.

Indigenous peoples of America, under the influence of Spanish rule, changed their eating habits, and only recently there has been renewed interest in the use of lupine seeds as a food product.

Interestingly, in the Mediterranean countries, Lupine seeds have also been used as a food product since ancient times. For example, in the Roman Empire, Lupine seeds were a very popular food.

Today's fate of Lupine seeds

Today, the popularity of using lupine seeds as a food product is gaining momentum in the world. In Australia, breeders are working on the development of sweet varieties of Lupine. For example, the sweet lupine is Lupinus angustifolius (Lupine narrow-leaved), which is grown in Russia as feed for livestock.

But Lupine narrow-leaved or Lupinus bean can be perfectly used to make food products from which you can prepare everyday dishes, both sweet and savory, as well as sauces. After all, the listed types of Lupine are high in protein, antioxidants, dietary fiber, while they have a very low starch content and do not have gluten at all, which provokes allergies in some people.

Today you can taste dishes from Lupine in such European countries as Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, as well as in Egypt and Brazil. Like pickles or canned olives, pickled beans of Lupinus albus are sold in Europe, which can be eaten with or without the peel.

In Spain, Portugal and Spanish Harlem in the United States, salted Lupine beans are served with beer, and in Israel, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon they are served as an “aperitif” to whet the appetite, or for a light “snack”.

Lupine seeds are used in the production of vegan sausage, lupine-tofu (similar to tofu (cottage cheese) from soy), made from them into flour, which is added to baked goods. Such products are in demand by vegans, vegetarians, and diabetes patients.

On the picture: Lupine Seed Bread in Australia

Studies have shown that foods made from sweet Lupine give you a feeling of fullness at a much smaller serving size than other foods. Lupine lowers bad cholesterol, balances blood glucose levels and improves bowel function.