Quinoa, like amaranth, is not a traditional cereal. It belongs to the foxtail family and is a pseudo-cereal. Amaranth and quinoa have several identical properties. Since the two pseudocereals contain no gluten, they are gluten-free and very well tolerated by people with celiac disease.
Quinoa is mainly grown in South America. The plant is hardy and has very little demand in terms of cultivation, so it does not require artificial fertilizers or the like. The pseudocereal can even grow at very high altitudes, such as in the Andes. Several thousand years ago, the Incas in South America were already cultivating quinoa, which was an important staple food.
Quinoa is also very “in” today. The pseudo cereal is not only well tolerated, it can also be used quite easily like other conventional cereals. Proportionally, however, quinoa has a higher protein content in comparison. The vegetable protein in quinoa is also well suited for people who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, but of course not exclusively. In addition, the pseudocereal contains essential vitamins and minerals.
In use, quinoa cereal can be cooked and serve as a side dish or salad. Furthermore, quinoa can be puffed and added to muesli, over salads or in cake batter. It is important that quinoa, no matter how it is used, is first washed thoroughly.
Of course, quinoa can also be ground. Quinoa flour tastes hearty and nutty and is good for baking bread. The flour is also good for thickening sauces.
Before you grind quinoa with one of our Salzburg grain mills, you should note the following: First wash and dry the quinoa grain. It is best to put it in the oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes.
Now which Salzburg grain mills are suitable for grinding quinoa? We recommend our Max Special, MT 5, MT 12, MT 18 and MT 18 D. If you still want to know in general which mill is suitable for which grain, then we have the Mill comparison for you.
Have a great day! And maybe you could take away one or the other new info about quinoa pseudocereal.
P.S. And if you want to learn about the pseudo-cereal amaranth, you’ve come to the right place.
Sources
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa
Münzing-Ruef, I. (1999): Kursbuch gesunde Ernährung. The kitchen as a pharmacy of nature. Munich: Zabert Sandmann GmbH, p. 266
