More and more people are no longer covering their protein requirements with animal foods, but with protein-rich plants. This is where the yellow lupine comes in, which, like blue and white lupins, is increasingly being used as a substitute for soy.
The yellow lupine is a sweet lupine
The yellow lupine “Lupinus luteus” is not suitable for cultivation in the garden. Its flowers are less decorative than those of the garden lupine perennial.
Sweet lupins have been cultivated in such a way that they do not contain any toxic components and are therefore edible. However, the seeds of ornamental lupins should never be eaten, as they are poisonous.
Yellow lupins, like white and blue lupins, are cultivated on a large scale to obtain food, animal feed, or seeds.
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Use of sweet lupins
The seeds are eaten. In the Mediterranean area, the grains are pickled and served as a snack. They are also processed into various products:
- lupine flour
- Lupine Tofu
- Lupine coffee
- animal feed
Lupine is now also often used instead of soy for many ready meals and ice cream varieties. This also has to do with the fact that soy products are being bought less and less due to genetic modifications.
Another advantage of using lupins as a protein source is that, unlike soy, sweet lupins are tasteless and do not alter the flavor of food and drinks.
Not everyone tolerates sweet lupins
Although sweet lupins are free of toxins, the plant is not tolerated by everyone. Allergies often occur after eating yellow lupine in the form of flour or as a ready meal.
Use as green manure
Sweet lupins are ideal green manure plants. White, yellow, and blue lupins are therefore often grown in fields to improve the soil.
The long roots also penetrate compacted soil and deeply loosen it. Bacteria living on the roots enrich the soil with nitrogen, which makes it fertile and can then be used to grow plants with high nutrient requirements.
