Cultivation Climate and growing cycle length Typical composition of the fat of the oil is 55% ω-3, 18% ω-6, 6% ω-9, and 10% saturated fat. †Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.Ĭhia is grown commercially for its seed, a food rich in omega-3 fatty acids since the seeds yield 25–30% extractable oil, including α-linolenic acid. New patented varieties of chia have been bred in Kentucky for cultivation in northern latitudes of the United States. Ĭhia is grown and consumed commercially in its native Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, northwestern Argentina, parts of Australia, and the southwestern United States. While soaking, the seeds develop a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based beverages a distinctive gelatinous texture. The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked. They are mottle-colored, with brown, gray, black, and white. Typically, the seeds are small ovals with a diameter around 1 mm ( 1⁄ 32 in). hispanica are in fact Salvia lavandulifolia. Its flowers are purple or white and are produced in numerous clusters in a spike at the end of each stem. Description Ĭhia is an annual herb growing up to 1.75 metres (5 feet 9 inches) tall, with opposite leaves that are 4–8 cm ( 1 + 1⁄ 2– 3 + 1⁄ 4 in) long and 3–5 cm ( 1 + 1⁄ 4–2 in) wide. hispanica is one of two plants known as chia, the other being Salvia columbariae, which is sometimes called "golden chia". The word chia is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning 'oily'. It is considered a pseudocereal, cultivated for its edible, hydrophilic chia seed, grown and commonly used as food in several countries of western South America, western Mexico, and the southwestern United States. Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia ( / ˈ tʃ iː ə/), is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala.
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