Quinoa – mother of all grains

 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has declared year 2013 the “International year of the Quinoa”.

 

 

Have you ever heard about Quinoa?

Cultivated around the 3800 m. over sea level, the Quinoa is an Andean grain that has been used and consumed in the Andes of South America (Peru y Bolivia) for thousands of years and that has recently reach the high-end restaurants due to its properties: it’s gluten-free, it’s easy to digest, it has a very high nutritional value and its protein content is very high. A kilo of quinoa has equal amount of proteins as the same amount of meat or a kilo of eggs.

The Incas considered the Quinoa to be sacred, referring to it as the ‘mother of all grains’ and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using ‘golden implements’. Unfortunately during the Spanish Colony, Quinoa was scorned and considered food for Indians and even actively suppressed its cultivation, due to its status within indigenous non-Christian ceremonies, its cultivation was forbidden for a time and the Incas were forced to grow wheat instead…

….And so it was that for hundreds of years the Quinoa disappeared of the middle and high class tables to be consumed almost exclusively by poor families in Lima and in the Andes. Quinoa was discriminated and people who eat it too. It really took hundreds of years to revalidate it, to appreciate its value again. Who will ever imagine 25 years ago the humble quinoa in the very expensive restaurants of the world? I can’t stop smiling. It was about time!

 

 

Quinoa brings me warm memories, memories of my childhood, Memories of my grandma cooking it with fresh white cheese, memories of my mom cooking it with milk for breakfast or with red chili, onion and cheese for lunch or dinner.

I get very emotional when I think about this and I remind myself that the time will come (it is actually coming already) when many other Andean or Jungle products as well as our ancient culture and our traditions will be revalidate by us, Peruvians, and I say this because some Peruvians tend to underestimate our native products and that makes me sad. 

In our country there are more than 80 types of quinoa. In a normal market you can find around 20 varieties of quinoa, in many different colors, another interesting fact is that quinoa is being eaten by astronauts on long space flights and is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for growing crops in space. 

 

 

What to do with it?

 Easy!

First step is to soak it in water for at least a couple of hours (the more the better). I normally do it the night before, change the water in the morning and have it ready to be prepared at lunch. Rinse the quinoa with running water. (This is to remove the little bitterness of the quinoa). Then you can use prepared it as you do with rice (for both cooking cycle and water amounts)…. cooking for 10 minutes aprox.

Quinoa is very versatile; it actually takes the flavor of what you add to it. Vegetables and seasonings can also be added to make a wide range of dishes. Chicken or vegetable stock can be substituted for water during cooking, adding flavor. Quinoa can serve as a high-protein breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds, or berries….or with milk and sugar like my mom does. 

 

 

 

For more recipes you can have a look at www.yanuq.com (Peruvian cuisine).

Sources: Elcomercio.com.pe, Photos: Google)