Mesquite Flour

Prosopis pallida branch and seed pod

Mesquite flour is made from the dried and ground pods of the mesquite (some Prosopis spp.), a tree that grows throughout Mexico and the southwestern US in arid and drought-prone climates. The flour made from the long, beige-colored seedpods has a sweet, slightly nutty flavor and can be used in a wide variety of applications. It has a high-protein, low-glycemic content and can serve as a gluten-free replacement for flours that contain gluten.^[1]

In the past, indigenous Americans relied on mesquite pods as an important food source.^[2] The bean pods of the mesquite tree are dried and ground into a flour. This flour is rich in dietary fiber (25%) and protein (13%), and it is low in fat (around 3%).^[3] It also contains significant quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and the amino acid lysine.

References

↑ Deborah Small (30 November 2011). "Native Cultures: Mesquite Flour". Deborah Small's Ethnobotany Blog. http://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/native-cultures-mesquite-flour/. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
↑ Honey mesquite in Texas
↑ Mesquite, Medicinal Plants of the Southwest

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[1] Deborah Small (30 November 2011). "Native Cultures: Mesquite Flour". Deborah Small's Ethnobotany Blog. http://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/native-cultures-mesquite-flour/. Retrieved 2012-08-26.

[2] Honey mesquite in Texas

[3] Mesquite, Medicinal Plants of the Southwest