Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
seeds is as the raw material for cold-pressed
hemp oil, hulled seeds (often called hemp nuts)
and the defatted seed cake or meal.
by weight. Since protein powders are widely
used in the USA by athletes and the general
population, hemp flour did not have to create
a new product category. Even though the pro-
tein content is low compared to whey or soy
protein concentrates or isolates, the dietary
fibre and small amounts of hemp oil make this
product an attractive nutritional package - and
one of the best-selling hemp foods in North
America.
16.3.1 Hemp oil
Hemp oil, when pressed from mature, undam-
aged seeds, has a delicious nutty flavour.
Depending on the variety, it may have a slight
grassy or bitter component to it. Hemp oil can
be used for almost anything for which olive oil
is used. Because of its high content of triple
unsaturated fatty acids, it does not tolerate
longer exposure to temperatures above 160°C
and develops off-flavours and possibly toxic by-
products. Thus, hemp oil should not be used
for frying, while light sautéing of vegetables
and other moisture-containing foods is accept-
able. Currently, the main
finished
product
made with hemp oil is salad dressing. The oil is
also by far the main hemp ingredient in a wide
range of cosmetics products: liquid and bar
soaps, creams, lotions, lip balm and others.
16.4 Composition and Nutritional
Attributes of Hemp Seeds
Without doubt, much less research has been
conducted on the nutrient composition of hemp
seeds and oil compared to other common
oilseeds. However, the limited data now avail-
able indicate that hemp seeds in fact have a
rather unique composition and their consump-
tion may offer considerable health benefits.
16.4.1
Fatty acid spectrum
16.3.2 Hemp nuts
Best researched of all nutritional properties of
hemp seed is the fatty acid composition.
Relative dominance of fatty acids will vary with
hemp variety and growing conditions, yet the
comparison with other nuts and oilseeds
shown in Fig. 16.3 is typical. Hemp oil con-
tains the two
essential fatty acids
(EFAs),
linoleic acid and alpha linolenic acid, the ori-
gins of the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid
families, in a desirable ratio of about 3:1. EFAs
cannot be produced by our body and, like vita-
mins, they or their metabolites must be con-
sumed in the diet.
In addition to these EFAs, hemp oil con-
tains gamma linolenic acid (GLA) and steari-
donic acid (SDA), two nutritionally relevant
'higher' omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids,
respectively. What is so significant about the
omega-3 to omega-6 ratio? Mounting scientific
evidence links many common ailments in
Western societies to an imbalance in omega-3
versus omega-6 fatty acids in the typical
Western diet. Put simply, we eat
too much
omega-6
and
not enough omega-3
. The typi-
cal North American diet contains 10-30 times
Hemp nuts are emerging as the dominant
hemp seed derivative in North America. They
are slightly larger than sesame seeds and, if
hulled properly, contain little shell. If eaten
raw, their taste resembles that of sunflower
seeds, but a
very
light roast in a pan brings out
their full flavour potential. Hemp nuts can
replace other nuts in any recipe, except where
larger chunks are needed. They go well in
soups and salads, in the sauces for meat and
tofu dishes, over vegetables, in desserts, baked
into bread and pastries. Major finished prod-
ucts made with hemp nuts are bread and pas-
tries, breakfast cereals, a large number of snack
or energy bars and hemp-nut butter.
The defatted seedcake was considered ini-
tially a by-product and used for animal feed
and as flour in speciality breads and pastries.
In 2003, several Canadian manufacturers
started selling the flour as 'protein powder' or
'protein flour'. Depending on how well the
larger hull pieces are screened out after crush-
ing, the flour may contain up to 50% protein
