Safflower
carthamus tinctorius



AKA
Mexican Saffron
Azafran (Spanish)
American saffron
False saffron

The seeds yield an oil much used in India
for burning and for culinary purposes.

Safflower was originally grown for the flowers that
were used in making red and yellow dyes
for clothing and food preparation.
Today this crop supplies oil, meal,
birdseed, and foots (residue from oil processing)
for the food and industrial products markets, although
this crop is now primarily grown for the oil.

The oil in linoleic safflower contains nearly
75% linoleic acid, is considerably higher than corn,
soybean, cottonseed, peanut or olive oils.
This type of safflower is used primarily for edible oil
products such as salad oils and soft margarines.
Researchers disagree on whether oils high
in polyunsaturated acids, like linoleic acid,
help decrease blood cholesterol and the related
heart and circulatory problems.
Nonetheless, it is considered a "high quality"
edible oil and public concern about this topic made
safflower an important crop for vegetable oil.

Varieties that are high in oleic acid may serve
as a heat-stable, but expensive cooking oil used
to fry potato chips and french fries.
As an industrial oil, it is considered
a drying or semidrying oil used in manufacturing
paints and other surface coatings.
The oil is light in color and will not yellow with aging,
hence it is used in white and light-colored paints.
This oil can also be used as a diesel fuel substitute,
but like most vegetable oils,
is currently too expensive for this use.

The meal that remains after oil extraction is used
as a protein supplement for livestock.
The meal usually contains about 24% protein and much fiber.
Decorticated meal (most of hulls removed)
has about 40% protein with a reduced fiber content.
Foots are used to manufacture soap.
The birdseed industry buys a small portion
of the seed production.
Sheep and cattle can graze succulent
safflower and stubble fields after harvest.

Comments
Indigenous to the Mediterranean region
before it made its way to Mexico.
It is a relative of the thistle.


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