Natural Chia Seeds, Style : Dried

Salvia hispanica L., commonly known as chia, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family of about 900 species of green plants, characterized by its high nutritional and therapeutically potential. Native to Central American countries such as Guatemala and Mexico, its possible development is guaranteed by warm temperatures of 15–30°C and high rainfall. The ancient indigenous Aztec civilization consumed chia seed roasted and grounded incorporated to many foods as a source of energy. The word chia derives from the Nahuatl word “chian” with means oily. The name Salvia hispanica was given by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707–78), who confused the wild-growing plant coming from the New World with a native plant from Spain. The maximum height of the plant is 1 m with leaves of about 4–8 cm long and 3–6 cm wide. The flowers are white or purple containing oval seed mottle-colored with brown, gray, black, and white.

The culinary uses of chia seed have been as a whole seed, seed flour, seed mucilage, and seed oil.