On Sun, 23 Jul 2000 03:20:21 -0700, Terry wrote:
>I've heard all about flax - bought some seeds recently. But I'm not sure
>what to do with them. Do I have to grind them? Why? How do I store them?
>What do they taste like? I've read a lot about flax, know of the health
>benefits, but no one seems to say what it tastes like or why you must grind
>it. Also, I believe that once it is ground it is more fragile (spoilable),
>but how about the seeds unground - how long can I keep them and where? Are
>the seeds inedible whole?
I grind mine because the outer shell is really tough and I don't think
it breaks up during chewing or digestion. I use a small food mill
that I bought for the purpose, but if you have a coffee grinder that
should work also.
I have a flax cookbook that I downloaded from the Flax Council of
Canada! They say that the whole seeds can be stored at room
temperature for up to a year, and the ground seed can be stored in the
refrigerator for up to 90 days, but begin to lose nutritional value
much sooner than that. I keep the whole seeds in the refrigerator,
and grind up no more than a week's supply at one time. Let me know if
you want a copy of the cookbook in PDF format. The recipes aren't low
fat, but they would give you ideas.
Janice