Flax: A Smart Choice for Your FamilyFlax in Home CookingCooking with Flax When you add flax to your cooking, you add a pleasant, nutty taste, and more. The attractive, oval reddish-brown seeds of flax add taste, extra texture and good nutrition to your breads and other baked goods. That's why flax has been long-used in multi-grain cereals and snack foods. Flax also delivers the benefits of its soluble fiber, lignans, omega-3 fatty acid mix and protein. Flax can be added to your cooking in its milled or whole seed form. • Whole flax seeds - The small, reddish-brown seeds of flax add nutrition when added to bread doughs, pancake, muffin or cookie mixes. When sprinkled on top of any of these before baking, they also add crunch, taste and eye appeal. • Milled flax - Grind a desired amount of flax seeds to a free-flowing granular consistency in a coffee bean grinder. Added to any foods, the milled flax enhances the flavour, appearance and food value of the finished product. Flax Replaces Oils Flax seeds can replace the oil or shortening in a recipe because of its high oil content. If a recipe calls for 1/3 c of oil, use 1 c of milled flax to replace the oil — a 3:1 substitution ratio. When flax is used instead of oil, baked goods tend to brown more rapidly. Storage Whole flax seeds which are clean, dry and of good quality, can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. For optimum freshness, milled flax should be ground as needed, or refrigerated in an airtight, opaque container. Buying Flax Whole flax seeds can be found at many health food stores and organic/natural food markets. It can be easily ground at home, using a coffee grinder which is the best method to preserve freshness. Milled flax is also available in some stores or by mail order from a few sources.
(You are welcome to reproduce these flax recipes, but please credit the Flax Council of Canada.)
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