Quinoa
by Gudrun Maybaum
Spring 2004
Chenopodium quinoa
Chenopodiaceae or Goosefoot
For this issue, I picked a food that is sometimes considered a grain and
sometimes a vegetable. My decision to write about quinoa was made because I have been feeding it to my birds on a daily basis for almost 10 years. Quinoa means the “mother grain” in origin, but it is also called the “gold of the Incas” or “vegetable caviar,” and it is one of the oldest cultivated plants on Earth.
Nutrition
For at least 5,000 years, quinoa was the primary food for natives of the Andes from Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Bolivia. The Incas built their entire culture around planting and harvesting it. They thought it was given to them by God and so had many rituals surrourounding it.
Not only did they eat it, they made a mixture of burned quinoa plant and cocoa leaves which gave their message runners endurance to cover 150 miles in 24 hours.
When the conquistadors reached the region, they did not pay much attention to quinoa, but destroyed the quinoa fields within one year. Some of the fields and wild planted crops survived and were
replanted and eaten secretly, because the Spaniards had forbidden the consumption.
Bolivians around Lake Titicaca cultivated quinoa about 9,000 years ago.
These plants had larger seeds and thinner shells than the one from the
Andes. Archaeologists also found evidence from around 2000 BC that quinoa was used on the North American continent and that the Natchez Indians along the Mississippi had cultivated it.
Lambs quarters, pigweed and goosefoot, which are botanical relatives of quinoa, grow wild all over the North American continent and were also used as food by the natives.
Quinoa is often called the supergrain, because it is highly nutritious and
covers all the body’s needs for vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fiber. Some refer to it as a pseudocereal, because it is not, like other grains, a grassy but a broad-leaf plant.
A lot of allergies are caused by grains coming from grassy plants.
Quinoa is a leafy plant and a good substitute for people suffering from such allergies. The quality and quantity of the proteins in quinoa is considered superior to other grains. It provides a complete protein, because it contains all the essential amino acids. Its high amount of lysine, which other grains lack and which usually is found only in meat, fish and eggs, makes it a good food for birds and vegetarians.
The fact that one cup of quinoa contains the same amount of calcium as a quart of milk is important, for a lot of birds lack calcium.
To this day, quinoa is considered an endurance food by Bolivian athletes, because of its high mineral and vitamin content.
Healing
Quinoa can be used as a compress for bruises to draw out the pain and
prevent discoloration. Native Americans used it to treat liver problems,
urinary tract infections, appendicitis and altitude sickness. Today it is still used for altitude and motion sickness. Due to its high
calcium content, it is beneficial for the treatment of bone problems. In the Andes, the natives not only eat it, but they also put a plaster of quinoa flour and water on weak and broken bones.
Quinoa is coated with saponin, which serves as protection from birds and the intense sunrays at high altitude while growing. Saponin gives quinoa a bitter taste and it is toxic. It can be removed by washing the seeds with alkaline water, though most store-bought seeds have the saponin already removed.
Cultivation
Quinoa grows in the most hostile conditions, even in soil hard as rock. The natives just used to dig a hole with a spear and drop some seeds in and, without any tending, the plant grew all by itself. Quinoa grows in hot sun and sub-freezing temperatures and prefers sandy, alkaline soil.
Recipe
The breakfast for my 14 birds:
Cook 2 ounces of quinoa with 5 ounces of water until water is absorbed. 2 cups of green leafy vegetables (like spinach, arugula, dandelion leaves, kale, etc)
4 middle-sized carrots
2 cups of broccoli, zucchini, celery, green beans, asparagus, etc. I cut half of the vegetables into chunks, purée the rest and mix them into
the cooked quinoa. Depending on the season, I add dried or fresh herbs.
References
http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch36.html
http://momo.essortment.com/quinoanutrition_rhwz.htm
http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/AlternativeCrops/Quinoa.htm
http://www.quinoa.net/ http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/foods_view/0,1523,74,00.html
www.specialfoods.com/quinoa.html www.naturkost.de/aktuell/sk9807e2.htm