Thread: Quinoa

I was just watching News 14 in Raleigh and they had a cooking segment. The dish being prepared was based on a 'new grain' called Quinoa (pronounced Keenwa)

I scratched my head and said, hmmmm I've never heard of a grain called "keenwa" what is it some kind of new GM crop?

Nope, South American grain.

Here is the wiki on it..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as "chisaya mama" or "mother of all grains", and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using 'golden implements'. During the European conquest of South America quinoa was scorned by the Spanish colonists as "food for Indians", and even actively suppressed, due to its status within indigenous non-Christian ceremonies.

Quinoa is considered by many Jews to be kosher for Passover, if properly processed.[3][4]

This grain is very high in protein. I've tried it maybe around five years ago. I didn't like the taste or the texture very much though. It's mostly sold at health food stores. I did not now the background of it though. I don't think it caught on.

There are fads in health food as in everything. I think quinoa's heyday is gone. Then they went on to spelt and kamut, now it seems to be highly exotic subtypes of rice.

Quinoa is used in gluten-free diets.