An edible seed [n 1] is a seed that is suitable for human or animal consumption. Of the six major plant parts, [n 2] seeds are the dominant source of human calories and protein. [1] A wide variety of plant species provide edible seeds; most are angiosperms, while a few are gymnosperms. As a global food source, the most important edible seeds by weight are cereals, followed by legumes, nuts, [2] then spices.
Cereals (grain crops) and legumes (pulses) correspond with the botanical families Poaceae and Fabaceae, respectively, while nuts, pseudocereals, and other seeds form polyphylic groups based on their culinary roles.
Grains are the edible seed of a plants in the grass family Poaceae. Grains come in two varieties, the larger grains produced by drought-sensitive crops are called cereals, and the smaller drought-resistant varieties are millets. Grains can be consumed in a variety of ways, all of which require husking and cooking, including whole, rolled, puffed, or ground into flour. Many cereals are present or past staple foods, providing a large fraction of the calories in the places in which they are eaten. Today, cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world. [3]
Cereals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Family | Tribe | Genus | Species | Seed name(s) | Photo |
Poaceae | Andropogoneae | Sorghum | S. bicolor | sorghum | |
Zea | Z. mays | maize, corn, corn kernel | |||
Eragrostideae | Eleusine | E. coracana | finger millet | ||
Eragrostis | E. tef | teff | |||
Oryzeae | Oryza | O. sativa | Asian rice | ||
O. glaberrima | African rice | ||||
Zizania | wild rice | ||||
Paniceae | Digitaria | D. exilis | black fonio | ||
D. iburua | white fonio | ||||
Panicum | P. miliaceum | proso millet | |||
P. sumatrense | little millet | ||||
Pennisetum | P. glaucum | pearl millet | |||
Setaria | S. italica | foxtail millet | |||
Poeae | Avena | A. sativa | oat, oat groat | ||
Triticeae | Hordeum | H. vulgare | barley, barley groat | ||
Secale | S. cereale | rye, rye berry | |||
× Triticosecale | triticale | ||||
Triticum | T. aestivum | wheat, wheat berry | |||
T. durum | durum, durum wheat | ||||
T. monococcum | einkorn | ||||
T. spelta | spelt, spelt wheat | ||||
T. turanicum | kamut | ||||
T. turgidum | emmer | ||||
Thinopyrum | T. intermedium | Kernza |
Other grasses with edible seeds include:
A pseudocereal, or pseudocereal grain, is the edible seed of a pseudocereal, one of a polyphyletic group of plants that produce seeds that resemble those of cereals. Pseudocereals are used in many of the same ways as cereals.
Pseudocereals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Family | Genus | Species | Seed name(s) | Photo | |
Amaranthaceae | Amaranthus | amaranth, amaranth grain | |||
Chenopodium | C. berlandieri | pitseed goosefoot | |||
C. pallidicaule | kañiwa | ||||
C. quinoa | quinoa | ||||
Capparaceae | Boscia | B. senegalensis | hanza | ||
Lamiaceae | Salvia | S. hispanica | chia, chia seed | ||
Linaceae | Linum | L. usitatissimum | flax, flaxseed, linseed | ||
Moraceae | Brosimum | B. alicastrum | breadnut | ||
Pedaliaceae | Sesamum | S. indicum | sesame, sesame seed | ||
Polygonaceae | Fagopyrum | F. esculentum | buckwheat, buckwheat groat |
A legume, or pulse, is the edible seed of a legume, a plant in the family Fabaceae. [4] Legumes can be divided into grams, which do not split, and dals, which split.
Legumes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Family | Tribe | Genus | Species | Seed name(s) | Photo |
Fabaceae | Dalbergieae | Arachis | A. hypogaea | peanut (groundnut) | |
Cicereae | Cicer | C. arietinum | chickpea, garbanzo bean, gram | ||
Fabeae | Pisum | P. sativum | pea [n 3] | ||
Millettieae | Millettia | M. pinnata | Indian beechnut | ||
Phaseoleae | Cajanus | C. Cajan | pigeon pea | ||
Glycine | G. max | soybean | |||
Phaseolus | P. lunatus | lima bean | |||
P. vulgaris | common bean [n 4] | ||||
Vigna | V.aconitifolia | moth bean | |||
V. angularis | adzuki bean | ||||
V. mungo | black gram | ||||
V. radiata | mung bean, green gram | ||||
V. subterranea | Bambara groundnut | ||||
V. unguiculata | cowpea | ||||
Vicieae | Lens | L. culinaris | lentil | ||
Vicia | V. faba | fava bean, broad bean |
Although some beans can be consumed raw, some need to be heated before consumption. In certain cultures, beans that require heating are initially prepared as a seed cake. Beans that need heating include: [5]
According to the botanical definition, nuts are a particular kind of fruit. [6] Chestnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns are examples of nuts under this definition. In culinary terms, however, the term is used more broadly to include fruits that are not botanically qualified as nuts, but that have a similar appearance and culinary role. Examples of culinary nuts include almonds and cashews. [7] [8]
Edible gymnosperm seeds that resembles nuts include:
Other edible seeds that do not neatly fit into the above categories include:
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world.
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products.
The peanut, also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, due to its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 44 million tonnes in 2016, led by China with 38% of the world total. Atypically among legume crop plants, peanut pods develop underground (geocarpy) rather than above ground. With this characteristic in mind, the botanist Carl Linnaeus gave peanuts the specific epithet hypogaea, which means "under the earth".
A nut is a fruit consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. In general usage and in a culinary sense, a wide variety of dry seeds are called nuts, but in a botanical context "nut" implies that the shell does not open to release the seed (indehiscent).
Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth.
A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, grass peas, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.
Almond butter is a food paste made from grinding almonds into a nut butter. Almond butter may be "crunchy" or "smooth", and is generally "stir" or "no-stir" (emulsified). Almond butter may be either raw or roasted, but this describes the almonds themselves, prior to grinding.
Bush bread, or seedcakes, refers to the bread made by Aboriginal Australians by crushing seeds into a dough that is then baked. The bread is high in protein and carbohydrate, and forms part of a balanced traditional diet. It is also sometimes referred to as damper, although damper is more commonly used to describe the bread made by non-Indigenous people.
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.
Among the many systems of classification of crops, commercial, agricultural, and taxonomical can be considered to be the most widely accepted agriculture classification of crops.
This is a categorically-organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is produced either by plants, animals, or fungi, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well. For humans, a staple food of a specific society may be eaten as often as every day or every meal, and most people live on a diet based on just a small variety of food staples. Specific staples vary from place to place, but typically are inexpensive or readily available foods that supply one or more of the macronutrients and micronutrients needed for survival and health: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Typical examples include grains, seeds, nuts and root vegetables. Among them, cereals, legumes and tubers account for about 90% of the world's food calorie intake.
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