I’ve wanted to make some flaxseed gel for quite a while. When I was at the grocery store I saw a bag of flax seeds, so I figured I’d buy some and try my hand at making the gel. I bought a 1lb 8oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Natural Raw Whole Flaxseed for 4 dollars and some change. I searched online for recipes and the one I found the most was 1 cup water and 2 tbsps flaxseeds. I decided to use that one as a base recipe and tweak it as I needed to.

During my research I noticed that people mentioned the consistency of the gel would be like egg whites. I wanted my gel to be slightly thicker, so I decided to use 3 tbsps instead of 2. While reading how to prepare the gel I had another thought: instead of cooking it on the stovetop, wouldn’t it be easier to just microwave it? I thought I’d give it a try. If it didn’t work out then I’d only lost 3 tbsps of seeds and a cup of water. I still had plenty of seeds to play around with. I tried my method and it was successful. Here is the recipe, and preparation instructions.

Materials

Flaxseeds
Measuring Cup
2 Mesh Strainers
Microwave Safe Bowl
Container for Gel
Spoon

Recipe for Flaxseed Gel

3 tbsps flaxseeds
1.5 cups of water
1 tsp honey (optional)
1 tbsps castor oil (optional)

Put 3 tbsps of flaxseeds in a bowl. Add 1 cup of water. Microwave for 5 minutes (Halfway through you can stop and stir if you would like to. It isn’t required though). Mixture should be slimy when you remove it from the microwave. Pour mixture through mesh strainer into the container you will be storing the gel in immediately. Use another strainer or a spoon to push down the flaxseeds in the strainer and get the remaining gel from them.  *Optional- Put flaxseeds back into microwave safe bowl. Add ½ cup of water. Microwave for 5 minutes. Repeat process for straining flaxseeds. If you do not want to make more gel from the flaxseeds, you can put them in the refrigerator for a future batch. Add honey and oils after gel has cooled.

I like this method because if you do not have access to a stove (college students, etc.) then you can still make flaxseed gel. I found my flaxseeds in the baking aisle. I have heard people like to use stockings or knee highs to strain the gel from the flaxseeds. I may try it at some point, but I found the mesh strainers were very easy to use. Try this out and let me know if it works for you!