Hemp seeds from wild hemp?

August 8, 2015 1:00 PM

I live in a rural area, and there are several large hemp ('ditch weed') plants that are loaded with seeds. I've heard they can be a good source of protein, Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats, fiber, etc. My question is-- can I simply pick the seeds from the plants and consume them (on a salad or mixed with yogurt), or do they need to be processed in any way? (BTW-- they are in an area where there's no danger of pesticides or herbicides; they are about as 'organic' as you can get). Thanks!
posted by chaotic_neutral to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

They'll have an unpleasantly crunchy and indegestable brown hull which you'll need to remove before you have anything resembling commercial hemp seeds. You can do this manually by cracking them and separating the hulls and seeds in water, but it's tough to get them as clean as machine-processed seeds. You can Google up instructions if this sounds worth it.
posted by pullayup at 1:47 PM on August 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Be aware that possession of viable hemp seeds may or may not be legal in your jurisdiction.
posted by dcjd at 2:43 PM on August 8, 2015