Quinoa, a cereal that until recently remained the property of the peoples of South America, is quickly gaining ground on the tables of Russians. People fall in love with it from the first spoon: quinoa not only has an unforgettable taste, but also goes well with any product, and its composition is unmatched.
Quinoa

The unique taste and interesting appearance of quinoa allows it to be used with equal success both hot and cold as part of a huge number of dishes, including soups, salads, and desserts.
5 reasons to try quinoa
1 Free from gluten.

2
High content of phosphorus, B vitamins, calcium and iron, as well as the most valuable antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol.
3
The completeness of the protein component is the only cereal in the world that is close to meat in terms of amino acid composition.
four
Low to medium glycemic index (from 35 to 53 in different varieties) and the ability to equalize blood sugar levels.
5
Unusual taste and texture, as well as culinary versatility: quinoa is used to make pastries and pasta, salads, side dishes.

The real story of the pseudocereal
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2013 the International Year of Quinoa. It was then that many first heard about this amazing plant, which behaves like a cereal, and in composition resembles food of animal origin, but is neither one nor the other.
In South America, quinoa has been a traditional product for many millennia, the indispensability and everydayness of which is captured in Bolivian and Chilean sayings, similar to ours “easier than a steamed turnip” and “bread is the head of everything”. The Incas called quinoa the “golden grain”, and in the chronicles of travelers from the “mainland”, the plant first appeared in the 16th century: navigators wrote that the Peruvians had a habit of growing “a very good product”, suitable for both food and drink. (if you see the mysterious "Peruvian rice" mentioned, you know it's quinoa!).

The role of plant culture in the economy of South American territories is incredibly great: not only quinoa grains are used; the threshed stems are used to make fuel for stoves, and the fresh leaves are eaten in the manner of a salad.

Quinoa — не единственный способ прочтения сложного индейского слова. Krupa appears under the names of quinoa, quinoa, and even “cinema quinoa”. Indeed, the South American visitor is the closest relative of weed grass, well known to all those suffering from hay fever, they belong to the same Chenopodium family.
Quinoa часто называют «псевдозлаком». On the one hand, in terms of culinary characteristics, it is close to wheat, rye, and oats: you can cook porridge from quinoa or grind grains into flour. However, from a botanical point of view, bead seeds, collected in shaggy clusters, ripening on a one-year-old stem, are considered fruits. The closest analogy is mustard or spinach seeds. But the delicate taste and high yield make it possible to use quinoa very widely.
The UN recognized the role of quinoa in ensuring food security on a global scale - the plant has proven its unpretentiousness, successfully taking root even in Tibet and the Himalayas. So it is possible that someday, for example, quinoa from the Urals will appear on our tables.
Quinoa Ingredients: Native American Secret
Nutrition experts are sure that if you have the ability and desire to include quinoa in your regular diet, you should not hesitate. This product equally well solves several problems at once: it provides the body with essential nutrients, vitamins and trace elements in an easily digestible form, supports immunity, and is also an excellent help if necessary to lose weight. “If you properly develop a weight loss diet with quinoa, you can lose weight without the consequences associated with a lack of certain substances in the body,” say Inge Hofmann and Arnold Hilgers, authors of the book “The Immune System. Mobilization of internal forces.
In terms of the content of the most important vitamins and vitamin-like substances, quinoa leaves other cereals far behind:
Plant culture Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin C Vitamin E Carotene
Quinoa 0,65 0,four four,four 5,37 0,four8
Пшеница 0,four8 0,1four 0 3,2 0,02
Oats 0.52 0.17 0 1.1 0
Просо 0,29 0,12 0 four,2 0,33
Corn 0.36 0.20 0 0.5 0.37
Rice 0.32 0.05 0 0.7 0
And in terms of the amount of minerals (in mg per 100 g of cereal), quinoa is also ahead of its main competitors, rice, wheat, and corn, historically common in the region of its origin.
Minerals (mg per 100 гр) Quinoa Рис Пшеница Кукуруза
Кальций 290 69 fourfour 15
Фосфор four70 325 four06 256
Iron 51 2.6 3.3 0.8
Калий 10four0 150 502 330
Магний 310 157 1four7 120
Sodium 122 69 89 69
Copper 0.87 0.02 0.07 0
Марганец four,3 1,1 3,four 0,four8
Zinc 8.7 0 3.8 2.1
Chlorine 533 0 633 137
Sulfur 220 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Silicic acid 115 n/a 97 n/a
Cobalt 0.005 0.001 0.002 no data
The amino acid composition of quinoa is distinguished not only by a purely quantitative advantage in most indicators in comparison even with cow's milk, but also by exceptional diversity and, most importantly, balance.
Аминокислота Quinoa Пшеница Овес Кукуруза Рис Молоко*
Изолейцин 0,88 0,53 0,50 0,four6 0,35 0,21
Leucine 0.98 0.90 0.86 1.32 0.71 0.31
Лизин 0,91 0,37 0,four1 0,31 0,31 0,26
Methionine 0.33 0.22 0.19 0.20 0.17 0.08
Фенилаланин 0,four8 0,63 0,6four 0,50 0,four3 0,17
Треонин 0,63 0,four2 0,four6 0,four2 0,3four 0,15
Tryptophan 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.08 0.09 0.05
Валин 0,55 0,6four 0,63 0,55 0,51 0,23
Аргинин 1,02 0,61 0,60 0,four5 0,62 0,12
Histidine 0.37 0.27 0.23 0.28 0.19 0.09
Тирозин 0,39 0,four0 0,four2 0,four1 0,33 0,17
Cysteine ​​0.33 0.28 0.25 0.15 0.10 0.03
*Cow's milk with a specific fat content of 3.5%
Taste and varieties of quinoa
Although quinoa seeds do not have the pungency of mustard seeds, they can only be eaten after pre-treatment. The shell of the fruit is covered with saponins - this is a protective reaction that allows the plant to repel insects and birds with a specific flavor (saponins are natural soap, when shaken, their solutions form foam). Man has learned not only to wash off this chemical layer (just use plain water) in order to enjoy the taste of quinoa; methods are being developed to dry extract saponins from quinoa grains in order to obtain an effective but safe agent for repelling agricultural parasites.

The three main types of quinoa are red, white and yellow. The shape of the seeds of any color is the same - "pot-bellied", biconvex, resembling a flattened ball, surrounded by a dense corolla. The color of the cereal also does not affect its taste, which remains quite recognizable and characteristic, with nutty and creamy notes.

Quinoa служит благодатной средой для раскрытия any intense culinary aromas and tastes and is loved by gourmets for this. However, a simple portion of crumbly boiled cereals with olive oil as the only additive can also give vivid impressions to a lover of delicious food.
Quinoa has no obvious contraindications (with the exception of extremely rare cases of individual intolerance), everyone can enjoy its taste and benefits. In addition, more and more often, pediatricians recommend that mothers try this product as the first porridge food for children in their first year of life, as well as in cases where the baby has had cases of gluten allergy or celiac disease is suspected. Check with your pediatrician if you are interested in quinoa as such.
How to cook and store quinoa
Due to the content of saponins, which, firstly, give the cereal a bitter taste, and secondly, are not very useful for the human body, it is recommended to scald quinoa with a large amount of boiling water before cooking, and then drain the water. High temperature will quickly destroy the protective shell, leaving behind only a light but pleasant bitter aroma. It is recommended to put the scalded quinoa on a very fine sieve or lay a colander with gauze - otherwise a significant part of the small grains will safely escape with boiling water.
Another way is to rinse the quinoa seeds in a linen bag under cold running water. In this case, you should mix and squeeze the grits by hand so that the saponin layer is washed off evenly. In order to understand whether scalding or washing gave the desired result, taste a couple of grains.

Quinoa заливают водой из расчета 1:1,5 и отваривают на небольшом огне 10-15 минут. The cereal will let you know when it is ready: it will absorb water, the grains will increase in size and become soft, and the characteristic “halo” surrounding each of them will separate.

Pseudozlak is used both hot and cold for making cereals, soups, salads, side dishes; cooked with broth and additives according to the principle of risotto (such a dish even received a separate name - kinotto). Quinoa is also good in desserts and puddings.
Groats are recommended to be stored in a tightly closed container in a dry, shaded, cool place - otherwise it can go rancid and not only change the taste, but also lose its useful qualities.
Diets that include quinoa ko yard
Gluten free diet
Due to its special reputation as a gluten-free cereal-like product, quinoa is especially loved by followers of the gluten-free diet. A diet that eliminates certain grains (wheat, rye, and barley are usually the first items on the "stop list") was originally used as a treatment for celiac disease (enzyme-mediated gluten intolerance) and allergies. Often a gluten-free diet is recommended for rheumatoid diseases. However, in recent years, avoiding gluten-containing foods has become a weight loss and health trend, with some popular nutritionists elevating gluten to the rank of "food evil" along with pure sucrose and saturated fats. People who are not weighed down by medical indications refuse gluten of their own free will - and quinoa comes to their aid, from which you can do everything that we used to do with "normal" cereals.
protein diet
The high content of biodigestible vegetable protein in quinoa (from 13 to 22% in composition) aroused the unflagging interest of those who or had time to test the postulate that it is protein food that a person needs in the first place. The composition of quinoa is compared in richness with the composition of human breast milk - croup contains 20 essential amino acids, including tryptophan, which is necessary for the full production of the hormone of joy serotonin and lysine, which is