Quinoa 7 Ways

Quinoa is one of the most versatile ingredients I've come to adore. My first encounter with quinoa patties was in Heidi Swanson's book, Super Natural Everday. Awesome cookbook, and I love her blog as well.

Quinoa (/ˈkiːnwɑː/, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa ) is a species of the goosefoot genus (Chenopodium quinoa), a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach and tumbleweeds. As a member of the Amaranthaceae family, it is related to and resembles amaranth, which is also a pseudocereal. It is high in protein, lacks gluten, and is tolerant of dry soil.

Economics of Indigenous Food Production

The popularity of quinoa grain in non-indigenous regions has raised concerns over food security. Due to continued widespread poverty in regions where it is produced and because few other crops are compatible with the soil and climate in these regions, it has been suggested that the inflated price disrupts local access to food supplies. In 2013, The Guardian compared it to asparagus cultivated in Peru, a cash crop criticized for excessive water use, as "feeding our apparently insatiable 365-day-a-year hunger for this luxury vegetable[...]" It has been suggested that, as people rise above subsistence-level income, they choose higher-status Western processed foods. However, anthropologist Pablo Laguna states that farmers are still saving a portion of the quinoa crop for their own use, and that the high prices affect nearby city dwellers more, but consumption in cities has traditionally been lower. According to Laguna, the net benefit of increased revenue for farmers outweighs the costs, saying that it is "very good news for small, indigenous farmers".

Confetti Quinoa Salad

The transformation from a healthy staple food for farming families and communities into a product that is held to be worth too much to keep for oneself and one's family is an ongoing process. It is seen as a valuable resource that can bring in far greater amounts of cheap, low nutrient foods such as pasta and rice. It used to be seen as a peasant food that provided farming families with a very important source of nutrition, but now occupies a spectrum from an everyday food of urban Bolivia's middle class to a luxury food in the Peruvian capital of Lima where "it sells at a higher per pound price than chicken, and four times as much as rice". Efforts are being made in some areas to distribute it more widely and ensure that farming and poorer populations have access to it and have an understanding of its nutritional importance. These include incorporating it into free school breakfasts and in government provisions distributed to pregnant and nursing women in need.

Saponin content

In their natural state, the seeds have a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making them unpalatable. Most of the grain sold commercially has been processed to remove this coating. This bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as it is unpopular with birds and therefore requires minimal protection. The genetic control of bitterness involves quantitative inheritance; lowering the saponin content through selective breeding to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties is complicated by about 10% cross-pollination.

The toxicity category rating of quinoa saponins treats them as mild eye and respiratory irritants and as a low gastrointestinal irritant. The saponin is a toxic glycoside, a main contributor to its hemolytic effects when combined directly with blood cells. In South America, quinoa saponin has many uses, including as a detergent for clothing and washing and as an antiseptic for skin injuries. High levels of oxalic acid are in the leaves and stems of all species of the Chenopodium genus, and are also in the related genera of the Amaranthaceae family.  The risks associated with quinoa are minimal, provided it is properly prepared and the leaves are not eaten to excess.

7 Quinoa Recipes

Quinoa Onion Bites

Peas + Pesto Quinoa Patties

Quinoa & Black Beans

Quinoa Tabbouleh
Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
Zesty Quinoa Salad
Protein-Packed Spicy Vegan Quinoa
Cilantro Lime Quinoa


Quinoa Nutrition Facts
Quinoa Nutrition Analysis