When thinking about noshing on something from the Plant Kingdom, our minds usually go to edibles like spinach, oranges, apples, and lettuce. But some of the most widely consumed—and most delicious—plants are sometimes not so obvious. Beyond the leaves and inside the fruits are the Plant Kingdom’s hidden gems.
Seeds.
Though many Americans start their morning with a cup of coffee, few of us have actually seen Coffea canephora or Coffea Arabica, the two most commonly grown coffee species. (My last sighting was in the rural mountains of Guatemala.) From these evergreen shrubs, we harvest the seeds (commonly known as beans); various roasting processes bring out the tannins, aromatic oils, and bitterness that give coffee its unique and delectable flavor. These seeds also contain what I think to be the most delicious and attractive component of coffee—caffeine.
Caffeine is also found in the seeds of another widely consumed yet rarely identified plant, Theobroma cacao. The fatty seeds of this plant are partially fermented to make cocoa, which is subsequently used for chocolate. Although the seeds do contain small amounts of caffeine, their main active component is theobromine, a related alkaloid that has mild stimulating effects. Cocoa also contains phenethylamine and a serotonin precursor; these may account for its reputation as a mood elevator. And many of us know, intuitively, that chocolate’s melting point is just slightly below our body temperature, but do we realize how powerful this is? One study found that melting chocolate in one’s mouth produced brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than kissing. It’s no wonder the name Theobroma translates to “food of the gods.”
Though not technically a seed, we do eat the seed tissue, or endosperm, of another tropically grown plant, Cocos nucifera. Here in America, we usually see the fatty coconut meat shredded and used in desserts; in Asian cuisines, the meat is combined with hot water to make coconut milk, which is the delicious, rich base for curries, soups, and sweets. Young coconut juice is also a refreshing drink. In Indonesia, the palm sap is distilled to make the very strong, very inebriating drink, arrack. I’ve had the arrack attack, and I’ve never looked at a coconut tree in the same way again.
