|
THE DRAGOMAN CHRONICLES |
||||
| Home | January 6, 2005
QUINOA- HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN GRAIN - By Michelle O. Fried Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a high quality protein grain which grows only at high altitudes. A beige seed, flat and round, it looks almost like sesame. However, the quinoa grain has a thin white circle of protein, the germ, encircling it. In cooking, the protein circle opens up; the center of the grain swells and becomes transparent. Quinoa with its delightful nutty flavor and light crunchy texture is like no other grain you have ever eaten. Now produced in the state of Colorado, quinoa is easily found at natural food stores and even in many supermarkets. Most varieties of quinoa in the Andes have a bitter outer covering which protects the valuable grain from birds. In the Andes this poisonous saponin, which is excellent in skin and hair treatments, is removed by extensive washing. Traditionally done on stones a woman prides on the sweetness of her quinoa, a result achieved by skillful washing. In a modern kitchen quinoa can be washed in a blender, but the grain now available outside the Andes is prewashed and requires only rinsing. When the Spaniards arrived in South America they found the peoples of the Andes cultivating quinoa the length of the continent, from Bogoat, Colombia in the north to parts of Argentina and Chile in the south. Pre-Colombians had learned instinctively the quality of quinoa. When a mother's breasts no longer had sufficient milk to suckle a baby, she used quinoa as a weaning food, centuries before it was found in laboratories to contain a protein more sufficient than any other foodstuff - including cow's milk. Early Andean peoples with no other milk source whatsoever, and only an infrequent supply of meat, learned to nourish their race with the grain-seed of the quinoa plant. A whole grain, quinoa is also high in fiber.
Consumption of quinoa today has become limited in many Andean countries, perhaps due to the takeover of wheat. Quinoa is most frequently found as a base in soups in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. In "altiplano" it appears in the form of "Phizara", cooked with just enough water to open the grains as "rice". which are then either salted or sweetened. In Bolivian cities quinoa is also widely consumed. Beaten with eggs and filled with cheese, it is baked together to make a savory cake. "Pastel de quinoa'. "Chicha", a fermented drink resembling a slightly thick beer often made from corn, is also made from quinoa in high altitude areas of Peru and Bolivia. For travelers wanting to try quinoa, it can be found in tiny, neighborhood eating spots in the high altitudes of Peru and Bolivia. In fact, I was once offered "Chicha de quinoa", the slightly fermented drink, on the train from Cusco to Machu Picchu: a frosty, light, delicious drink it was. A gourmet item outside the Andes, quinoa is now an " in" ingredient among sophisticated cooks. In California friends adore a quinoa pilaf I created with pecans and apples. Here in Latin America , quinoa still has peasant status and primarily only well-read eaters know of its superior nutritional qualities. Urban poor are being trained by nutrition extensionists to eat this new grain.
Michelle O. Fried is a Public Health Nutrionist based in Quito, Ecuador. She is the Author of "Comidas Del Ecuador: Recetas Tradicionales Para Gente De Hoy". Originally published July/August 1996 in Latin America Traveler ISSN 10960-4878 Copyright 1998 by Crowder Publications
|