Tips for Purchasing and Storing Flaxseed
Like any new ingredient, shopping for and storing flaxseed can be daunting at first. Hopefully, our list of tips will take away that fear and make adding flaxseed to your diet easy and even enjoyable!
• Use ground flaxseed in your recipes. Whole flaxseed will pass through the gastrointestinal tract undigested, leaving the body unable to absorb its beneficial nutrients. Buy ground flaxseed or grind it in an electric coffee grinder to gain the omega-3 fatty acids, phytochemicals, and fiber. Whole flaxseed keeps longer than ground flaxseed, so grinding it yourself is the better option is you're up for it. Also, check the label before buying foods that reputedly contain flax to make sure that they contain ground flaxseed rather than whole.
• Don't be confused by labels. Milled flaxseed, ground flaxseed, and flax meal are all the same product. Also, flaxseed oil is the same as linseed oil.
• Brown and golden flaxseed—there's no difference. Sources say that golden flaxseed looks nicer on the table, but brown flaxseed is easier to find. It doesn't matter—the difference in taste and nutritional value is negligible.
• Check the grain aisle at the local supermarket or search online. The recipes on our "Delicious and Healthy Flaxseed Recipes" page recommend Mega Omega and Simply Omega-3 brands. You can find ground flaxseed in ingredient lists for everything from energy bars to pasta!
• If you're wary, add flaxseed to favorite foods, heavy dishes, or baking. Soups, smoothies, oatmeal, and yogurt are all great for adding a couple spoonfuls of ground flaxseed. They mask the taste and texture, and it will soon become a habit. Dark, moist dishes like meat sauces and casseroles will also work well with about 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseed added. If a baking recipe calls for more than 2 cups of flour, try substituting up to 1/2 cup with ground flaxseed. Use flaxseed oil in salad dressing instead of olive oil. (Important note: Never cook with flaxseed oil! It oxidizes at extremely low temperatures.)
• Store flaxseed carefully. Flaxseed keeps best as a whole seed, since the shell prevents the oil inside from oxidizing. Since it's highly unsaturated, the oil can easily turn rancid if it's not stored properly. Keep whole flaxseed in a dark, cool place. If it's good quality, stored at room temperature, and kept dry, whole flaxseed can keep for up to a year. Freeze ground flaxseed in the bag you bought it in, or in a plastic Ziploc bag if you ground it yourself. For a few months, the freezer will keep the ground flax from oxidizing and losing its flavor and nutritional potency. Store flaxseed oil in the refrigerator and use it within six weeks.
Article Sources:
