Seed Biology

Seeds are the driest, most shelf-stable foods in the kitchen — concentrated parcels of energy locked behind a water-resistant coat, requiring both moisture and heat to become edible. The same three-part structure (protective coat, embryo, storage tissue) appears across all seeds, and understanding how starch, protein, and oil behave within that structure explains nearly every cooking property of grains, legumes, and nuts.

Seed structure

Every seed consists of three functional components: