mesquite flour
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
File:Starr 021217-9001 Prosopis pallida.jpg branch and seed pod]]
Mesquite flour is made from the dried and ground pods of the mesquite (some Prosopis spp.), a tree that grows throughout Mexico and the southwestern US in arid and drought-prone climates. The flour made from the long, beige-colored seedpods has a sweet, slightly nutty flavor and can be used in a wide variety of applications. It has a high-protein, low-glycemic content and can serve as a gluten-free replacement for flours that contain gluten.{{Cite web
| last = Deborah Small
| title = Native Cultures: Mesquite Flour
| work = Deborah Small's Ethnobotany Blog
| date = 30 November 2011
| accessdate = 2012-08-26
| url = http://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/native-cultures-mesquite-flour/
| archive-date = January 7, 2021
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210107070453/https://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/native-cultures-mesquite-flour/
| url-status = live
}}
In the past, indigenous Americans relied on mesquite pods as an important food source.{{cite web |title=Honey mesquite |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/nature/images/mesquite.html |website=Texas Beyond History |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-date=August 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819060819/http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/nature/images/mesquite.html |url-status=live }} The bean pods of the mesquite tree are dried and ground into a flour. This flour is rich in dietary fiber (25%) and protein (13%), and it is low in fat (around 3%).{{cite web |last1=Gibson |first1=Sarah |last2=Hands |first2=Rachel |last3=Martinez |first3=Christine |date=2001 |title=Mesquite |url=http://medplant.nmsu.edu/mesquite4.shtm |website=Medicinal Plants of the Southwest |publisher=New Mexico State University |access-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314125237/http://medplant.nmsu.edu/mesquite4.shtm |archive-date=14 March 2017 |url-status=dead}} It also contains significant quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and the amino acid lysine.