Quinoa

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Quinoa

Quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. Considered to be a grain crop, it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, as it is not a grass. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

Overview

Quinoa comes from the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy, so it can be easily cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000 meters. Even so, it grows best in well-drained soils and requires a relatively long growing season. In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a leaf miner that may reduce crop success; this leaf miner also affects the common weed Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.

Similar Chenopodium species were probably grown in North America before maize agriculture became popular. Chenopodiums were also used in Europe as greens. Fat Hen (Chenopodium album) which has a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, produces edible seeds and greens much like quinoa, but in lower quantities. Caution should be exercised in collecting this weed, however, because when growing in heavily fertilized agricultural fields it can accumulate dangerously high concentrations of nitrates.

History and culture

Top Quinoa Producers - 2005 (million metric ton)
	27.0
	23.5
	0.7
World Total	51.2
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)^*

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.

Nutritional value

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance within pre-columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and followed in third place by maize. In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, and the United Nations has classified it as a supercrop for its very high protein content (12-18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete foodstuff. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is also gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long duration manned spaceflights.^*

Nutrients in 100 grams of Quinoa

Unit Amount % More Of In Than Nutrient Measure Quinoa Wheat

Food energy KCal: 374 113% Total lipid (fat) Gms: 5.8 302% Carbohydrate, by diff. Gms: 68.9 101% Ttl monounsaturated fat Gms: 1.535 506% Ttl polyunsaturated fat Gms: 2.347 306% Riboflavin Mg : 0.396 360% Folacin Mcg: 49 113% Potassium Mg : 740 217% Calcium Mg : 60 240% Phosphorus Mg : 410 123% Magnesium Mg : 210 169% Iron Mg : 9.25 256% Zinc Mg : 3.3 118% Pantothenic acid Mg : 1.047 111% Copper Mg : 0.82 200% Oleic acid (18:1) Gms: 1.525 646% Linoleic acid (18:2/n6) Gms: 2.214 304% Lysine Gms: 0.734 181% Methionine Gms: 0.262 113% Arginine Gms: 0.918 130% Tryptophan Gms: 1.100 580%

Saponin content

In its natural state quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it essentially unpalatable. Most quinoa sold commercially in North America has been processed to remove this coating. Some have speculated that this bitter coating may have caused the Europeans who first encountered quinoa to reject it as a food source, even as they adopted other indigenous products of the Americas like maize and potatoes. However, this bitterness has beneficial effects in terms of cultivation, as it is a crop that is relatively untouched by birds and thus requires minimal protection. There have been attempts made to lower the saponin content of quinoa through selective breeding in order to produce sweeter and more palatable varieties of the crop. However when these varieties were introduced by agronomists to native growers in the high plateaux, they were rejected after just one season. The growers returned to their traditional high saponin varieties, the reason being that despite the newer varieties giving 'magnificent' yields, birds had consumed the entire crop.

The saponin content in quinoa can be mildly toxic, as can be the oxalic acid content found in the leaves of all of the chenopodium family. However the risks associated with quinoa are minimal provided that it is properly prepared and leaves are not eaten to excess.

Quinoa is currently being studied by a number of researchers at various universities, notably a team led by Daniel Fairbanks at Brigham Young University's Department of Biology and Agriculture. Research is being done to increase the yields and palatibility of quinoa without sacrificing its beneficial properties.

Preparation

Quinoa is an easy food to prepare, has a pleasantly light, fluffy texture when cooked and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an excellent alternative to white rice or couscous.

The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking for a further period of time, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. However, boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience.

A common cooking method is to treat quinoa much like rice, bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14-18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it (like al-dente pasta). Alternatively, one can use a rice cooker to prepare quinoa.

Vegetables and seasonings can also be added to make a wide range of dishes. It is also well-suited to vegetable pilafs, complementing bitter greens like kale.

Quinoa can serve as a high-protein breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds or berries; it is also sold as a dry product, much like corn flakes.

Quinoa flour can be used in both wheat-based and gluten-free baking. For the latter, it can be combined with sorghum flour and tapioca and potato starch to create a nutritious and delicious gluten-free baking mix. A suggested mix is 3 parts quinoa flour, 3 parts sorghum flour, 2 parts potato starch and 1 part tapioca starch.

Name

This crop is known as "quinoa" in English, and is pronounced with the stress on either the first syllable () or the second (). In Spanish, the word is stressed on the first syllable and is usually spelt quinua (), with quínoa () being a variant. The name ultimately comes from the Quechua kinua or kinoa. There are multiple other native names in South America:

Quechua: ayara, kiuna, kitaqañiwa, kuchikinwa, kiwicha, achita, qañiwa, qañawa, kinua, kinoa, chisaya mama
Aymara: supha, jopa, jupha, juira, ära, qallapi, vocali
Chibchan: suba, pasca
Mapudungun: dawe, sawe

References and external links

Primal seeds article about less usual grain varieties
Alternative Food Crops article by Plants for a Future that includes quinoa as potential cool temperate region food crop, eg, in the UK
Alternative Field Crops Manual
Plants for a Future database entry on quinoa
Some nutritional information

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