Summary
What is quinoa (keen-wa)?
Quinoa is a seed grain that was a staple food of the Incas in South America. The majority of it is grown at high altitude in the mountains of Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. It's the only vegetable source of protein recognized as complete with all the essential amino acids needed for growth and development. It's also a good source of iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamins B6 and E, and can be an excellent source of fiber. It cooks in 15 minutes and can be used like rice or couscous in salads, stews, soup, stir-fries, pilafs, or as a cereal. Quinoa is gluten free. The flour is an excellent substitute for wheat flour in quick breads or baked goods that don't use yeast like cakes or cookies.
Do you have to store quinoa in the refrigerator?
No, quinoa stores easily in a dry kitchen cabinet. Unlike many whole grains that get rancid (off-flavored) quickly, it has a long shelf life of several years. This could be because of the high vitamin E content that acts as an antioxidant. The oil in quinoa does not develop an off flavor.
Do you have to wash or rinse quinoa before cooking and eating?
All quinoa has a bitter-tasting coating on each seed that protects it from being eaten by birds in the field. This is called saponin and must be removed before it is cooked and eaten. When quinoa was first exported from South America in the 1980's, the saponin was not cleaned off well and it was important to wash it before cooking. Today the cleaning is more thorough either by polishing or pre-washing so that the consumer does not have to wash or rinse it although many people do just to be sure.
Is all quinoa whole grain?
There is a whole grain quinoa produced by Inca Organics in Ecuador that is available in the US, England, and Australia. It is washed in a 3-step operation that thoroughly cleans the bitter saponin from the quinoa without removing any of the vital nutrients. It is then dried to a specific humidity and is ready to eat with no further rinsing. All other quinoa that is grown in Peru and Bolivia is mechanically polished by abrasion to take off the saponin. This produces a saponin powder that is used as an emulsifier in the pharmaceutical industry. The leftover quinoa is then sold as the grain quinoa; but is not a whole grain. The polishing makes it a refined grain like white rice, white flour, or pearled barley. It is lower in protein, vitamins, and minerals and has half the dietary fiber as whole grain quinoa.
Is all quinoa the same?
No, only quinoa grown in Ecuador by Inca Organics is cleaned by the unique washing method and not polished. Inca Organics quinoa is, therefore, the only whole grain quinoa on the market in the US, England and Australia. All other quinoa is polished to remove the bitter taste; but this polishing also removes many of the vital nutrients and makes it a refined grain.
Original source:
http://www.incaorganics.com
Details
http://www.incaorganics.com
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds.
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Wednesday, June 01, 2005
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