Recently I've been doing a lot of research into the ancient grain Quinoa. My friend Jay has been trying Quinoa and when he asked me for advice I figured I had no choice but to start cooking with it and learning more about it!
Here's what I've learned:
- Quinoa is an ancient grain from the Mayans. Due to malnutrition Quinoa was a coveted food because of its high level of proteins and adaptability when cooking. It has been said that duing the Mayan Era Quinoa was traded for gold and used as currency!
- Quinoa is considered a "super food" because of its nutritional qualities. It is extremely high in Protein which means that 1 serving of Quinoa is going to keep you full and help eliminate empty calorie snacking!
- Quinoa is one of the most versatile grains! It can be boiled, it can sprout, and can be eaten like rice, or oatmeal, or something inbetween.
- There are three types of Quinoa, each of which have their own unique flavours and qualities.
- This is the most common type of quinoa. Sometimes referred to as "Gold Quinoa" this version is light in flavour and works best in dishes that already have a lot of flavour. Gold Quinoa is great for oatmeals, and in baking.
- Red Quinoa is the second type of Quinoa. This type has a lot more flavour and is very fragrant. This type of quinoa is very adaptable but works best in a main dish because of its bolder flavour!
- Black Quinoa is the darkest type of Quinoa available! This type is incredible flavourful and has strong smokey fragrances. Black Quinoa is best used in a main dish where strong flavours are already present.
Here is where and how you can find Quinoa!
- Quinoa can be found in the organic section at most grocery stores. It can be hard to find anything other than white quinoa.
- Any natural stores or organic grocery stores will stock all forms of Quinoa. I would recommend trying Whole Foods or Roots Naturals!
