https://www.dpa-international.com/trends-and-features/urn:newsml:dpa.com:20090101:260709-99-11903/
Food fads come and go, but influencers on the lookout for the next “here’s what they don’t tell you” social media promo could have a new niche to work with.
Marigolds – those brilliantly photogenic yellow or orange flowers – are not only edible, but as dense with proteins as quinoa, another latter-day fad ‘superfood.’
According to researchers at the University of Georgia, marigolds combine protein with “hydrating and antioxidant properties, high fibre content and substantial amounts of minerals.”
The team listed calcium and potassium among the minerals that can be absorbed from marigold (Calendula officinalis), which come with “several key traits” that potentially lift them above other plant protein sources.
“Marigold protein extracts stay stable at higher temperatures than other plant proteins like chickpea and pea,” the UGA team said – a property that could make them suitable for baking.
And before eyes get rolled at the thought of more force-feeding of a tasteless superfood, the amino acids in the petals’ proteins “may lend an umami flavour to foods,” according to UGA.
The team’s research was published by the American Chemical Society’s ACS Food Science & Technology journal in April. In the paper, the team said that the findings “highlight marigold flower proteins as a sustainable, functional ingredient for a diverse range of food applications.”
Edible flowers have “untapped potential,” according to UGA researcher Fidele Benimana, who said that marigolds could not only provide nutrition but texture and stability to meals.
