QUINOA

In 21st century USA , Quinoa enjoys superfood status. Definately nutritious, decidedly exotic and demonstratably economical. What exactly is this high Andean Peruvan plant? Botanically, it's an herb offering both vegetable and grain culinary options. Contemporary American recipes generally promote quinoa as a superfood grain alternative. This is true on a basic level. Quinoa subs in nicely for traditional grain recipes (pasta, rice, couscous, &c.). USA commercially packed quinoa granules promote the grain potential (especially to gluten-free consumer market base) but fail to disclose the full plant's potential: most notably greens used for salad & vegetable purpose.

Origins & Inca foodways

"Quinoa...Pronounced 'keen-wah, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is an annual herb of the tropical American highlands and a native of Chile and Peru. Also known as quinua and sometimes as 'goosefoot,' quinoa is and historically has been the most important of the cultivated chenopods. Like amaranth, it is technically not a grain, meaning that it is not one of the cultivated grasses. Also like amaranth, quinoa helped sustain a great American civilization--in this cakes the Incas. After maize, it was the most utilized grain in the Andes region at the time of the Spanish conquest. It was used to make beer (chica) as well as soups, stews, and porridges, and its leaves were employed as a potherb. Quinoa does well in poor soils at high altitudes...Quinoa is cultivated today throughout the Andes from Ecuador to Bolivia and at one time was grown in England, where the leaves were consumed as greens and the seeds given to poultry. It is superior to the true grains in nutritional quality..."
(Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume Two (p. 1841))

Culinary applications

"Another favorite of our South American neighbors is a cereal which is all their own, and a very fine one at that, even if it is a member of the Pigweed Family. This plant, known as quinoa, goosefoot, or Incan arrow, is a native of the highlands of Peru and Chile and thrives best at an altitude of from 12,000 to 15,000 above the sea where few other food-plants or cereals grow. For several thousand years the quinoa has been cultivated by the Indians of the Andes, until today the best varieties grow to six feet or more in height and bear an abundance of edible seeds. These are round a flat, looking a good deal like small lentils, and are slightly glutinous, and very nutritious. They are ground into meal and flour and are used to making bread, cakes, in soups, and in the preparation of the native beverage known as chica. The quinoa meal and flour tastes somewhat like buckwheat, but with a hint of pea-flavor, and cakes or bread made from the cereal are excellent and a most welcome change from wheat or corn. In Chile, where the plant is extensively cultivated, the flour from the seeds is usually mixed with wheat flour for baking bread. In addition to providing a splendid cereal food, the quinoa furnished the natives with delicious "greens" which are made from the young leaves of the valuable plant, while finally, the Indians claim that an infusion of the seeds is a certain cure for tuberculosis. But even if their faith of the curative properties of the quinoa seeds is not wholly warranted, the "cereals" prepared from them would prove most valuable additions to our menus. If present plans in Chile and Peru mature, and quinoa is grow on a large commercial scale, it may note be very long before we in the North are breakfasting on this find cereal from the far-off Andes."
(Foods America Gave the World, A. Hyatt Verrill, [L.C. Page & Company:Boston] 1937 (p. 56-7))

Quinoa symbolism & folklore

"Quinoa is a high-protein grain that was virtually unknown to people outside South America until recent years. The grain grew wild in the South American highlands thousands of years ago. People living in the area around Lake Titicaca began cultivating it around 5800 to 4500 B.C. For thousands of years, millions of people in the Andean region relied on quinoa to fulfill their nutritional needs, and they revered the grain as a god-given food. In Quechua myth, a sacred bird, the turtledove, or killku, delivered quinoa to the people...When the Inca came to rule the Peruvian Andes, they too relied on quinoa as a nutritional staple and held it sacred. They called it "mother grain," and they made it the focus of sacred rituals performed in worship of their sun god."
(Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology, Tamra Andrews [ABC-CLIO:Santa Barbara CA] 2000 (p. 192))

Quinoa goes global

[1887] 
"A plant that could have a trial in the agriculture of California is the quinoa...a cereal indigenous in the higher districts of Peru and extensively cultivated there before and since the Spanish conquest. The grain prepared for the table in various ways similar to the methods of cooking beans, is regarded by the Peruvians and by many travelers as a delicacy. It was tried in German on a small scale and was cultivated with success, but did not give satisfaction on the table. Tschuli, from whose book of travels in Peru I learn from these facts, says: 'It is to be hoped that the cultivation of the quinoa will become general in Europe, for the plant would be a great utility in districts where the potato rot prevails. We all know that potatoes and tea when first introduced in Europe were found very offensive to the palate by may people who afterward accepted them gratefully. Like them there is reason to believe that the quinoa will become an article of food consumed by many civilized nations.'"
("A Peruvian Cereal," Los Angeles Times, September 20, 1887 (p. 11))

[1911]
"Quinoa, or Goosefoot: a plant cultivated in the elevated regions of Chile and Peru for its seeds, which are made into cakes, soup, beer, etc. It has the unusual merit of flourishing at a height of 13,000 feet above sea-level. It is grown to a limited extent in England, where the young leaves are consumed as 'greens' and the ripe seeds are valued as food for poultry and swine."
(The Grocers Encyclopedia, Artemas Ward [National Grocer:New York] 1911 (p. 517))

[1919]
"Chenopodium Quinoa...Petty Rice...South America. This plant, indigenous to the Pacific slopes of the Andes, constituted the most important article of food in the inhabitants of New Granada, Peru and Chile at the time of the discovery of America, and at the present day is still extensively cultivated on account of its seeds, which are used extensively by the poorer inhabitants. There are several varieties, of which the white is cultivated in Europe as a spinach plant, rather than for its seeds. However prepared, the seed, says Thompson, is unpalatable to strangers. Gibbon, who saw the plant in Bolivia, says that when boiled like rice and eaten with milk, the seeds are very savory. Seeds from France but originally from Peru, were distributed from the United States patent Office in 1854. Garcilasso de la Vega says it was called quinua by the natives of Peru and mujo by the Spaniards. he says: 'Both the Indians and the Spanish eat the tender leaf in their dishes, because they are savory and very wholesome. They also eat the grain in the soups, prepared in various ways.' A black-seeded variety, cultivated in gardens, is mentioned by Feuille, in Peru, preceding 1725. It was introduced into France in 1785 but has not had very extended use. Molina says in Chile there is a variety called dahue by the Indians which has greyish leaves and produces a white grain. The grain of the quinua serves for making a very pleasant stomachic beverage; that of dahue, on being boiled, lengthens out in the form of worms and is excellent in soup. The leaves are also eaten and are tender and of an agreeable taste."
(Sturtevant's notes on Edible Plants,, edited by U.P. Hedrick, Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1919 II [J.B. Lyon Company:Albany] 1919 (p. 161-162)
[NOTE: "New Granada," aka "New Kingdom of Grenada," refers to Columbia, 1530s-1780s.])

[1948] 
"The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which will wind up a special conference on Latin-American nutrition Wednesday, looked to day to quinoa, an ancient plant considered as sacred by the Incas, as a possible supplementary food in the Hemisphere to combat malnutrition."
("Latin Nations See New Food in Quinoa," Milton Bracker, New York Times, July 27, 1948 (p. 10))

[1952]
"Quinoa...A South-American grass cultivated in teh uplands of the Andes for the sake of its leaves which are eaten like spinach but should be boiled in two waters so as to render them less acrid. In Peru, its seeds are also used in soups and in cakes, and also in the brewing of a kind of beer."
(A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 118))

[1954] 
"Johnny and Mary may be able to forget about the word 'spinach' soon. A substitute is on the way, but the youngsters may not like that either, even if they can pronounce it. The name will be 'Quinoa.' According to the Department of Agriculture and the National Geographic Society, food manufacturers have been tinkering with the think leaves of the quinoa plant. It is an import from the Andes. To South American natives it has been the staff of life for centuries. It thrives only in the cold thin atmosphere, high in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The tender young shoots serve as salad greens. They taste like lettuce. But the seeds, the experts say, taste something like soap."
("Now Comes Quinoa: It's a Substitute for Spinach, Dear Children All," New York Times, March 7, 1954 (p. 113))

[1968]
"In the high Andean valleys of South America, where corn and beans do not grow...To make up for the potato's dietary deficiencies, they also grew a sturdy plant called quinoa, which thrives at very high altitudes and prodces small seeds that are rich in protein."
(Latin American Cooking, Jonathan Norton Lenoard, Foods of the World series [Time-Life Books:New York] 1968 (p. 21))

[1985] 
"Quinoa was the 'mother grain of the ancient Incas, who thought it sacred. Today, quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wa') still grows on the high slopes of the Andes--and of the Colorado Rockies, where a group of new-age entrepreneurs is cultivating for the small but rapidly growing American market. Not a cereal, but rather a fruit of the chenopodum family, quinoa is an annual herb on which the seeds from large clusters at the top of the stalk-like millet. It's an extremely hard plant that thrives in high, dry, mountainous regions where little else grows. Higher in protein than even wheat, it has a balance of essential amino acids close to ideal. Quinoa cooks in just 15 minutes, and while it's delicate, light and fluffy, the flavor is full, not quite like anything else. It bears some resemblance to couscous, and can be used in much the same way. I like to prepare it in in very simple ways (pilafs, taboulleh-type salads and stuffed peppers, for instance) so as not to eclipse its charms. Production is still a small-scale and labor-intensive operation, so the going price is about $3.50 a pound, which makes it an exotic alternative to wild rice."
("Laurel's Kitchen," Washington Post, October 30, 1985 (p. E8)
[NOTES: (1) The fact the reporter includes pronunciation note suggests quinoa was unfamiliar to his readers. (2) Recipes for Confetti Quinoa and Lemony Quinoa Pudding included.]

[1986]
"Quinoa, the tiny ivory-colored seed, has been recently introduced to the American market. High in protein--an average of 16.2 percent compared with 14 percent for wheat--it represents a better balance of amino acids than wheat, according to Eugene Anderson, professor of anthropology at the University of California at Riverside. The seed is particularly rich in the amino acid lysine, which is difficult to obtain from vegetable sources. The calcium content of uncooked quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah, from the Spanish) is the same as an equal quantity of low-fat milk, but with four times as much phosphorus. It is also a good source of B vitamins and vitamin E. Native to the high Andes of South America, quinoa has been rediscovered as one of the 'heritage' foods that sustained native American populations before the arrival of Europeans. As such, it joins New Mexican blue corn, the sacred train of the Hopis used to make silvery paper-thin piki bread, which has successfully made the great leap from the Southwestern reservation to the trendy California kitchens. It's too early to tell if quinoa will catch on in this fashion. The new seed is not merely nutritionally good. Cooked briefly in water, quinoa fluffs up, quadrupling in size, but retains a crunchiness approaching a cross between short-grain rice and bulgur. Because the delicately nutty flavor is unassertive, the cooked grain can be used in salads, as a main-dish casserole, a quick substitute for couscous with a meat or vegetable stew, a seasoned curried pilaf, a side dish when mixed with pesto or other herbs, a stuffing for poultry or vegetables or even dessert. Quinoa is delicate enough to serve with fish yet can be robustly seasoned to accompany a hearty beef stew, and recooking it, in a sauce for example, will not affect its texture...Quinoa, sold in health food stores and specialty shops...is imported from Peru and Bolivia. The Quinoa Corporation of Boulder, Colo., the major importer in this country, plans to introduce the food in gourmet shops in a few months and in supermarkets by the end of the year."
("Quinoa, Andean Legacy, Arrives," Florence Fabricant, New York Times, February 12, 1986 (p. C1))
[NOTE: Recipes for Basic Quinoa, Felipe Rojas-Lombardi's Quinoa Atamalada and Toasted Quinoa Pilaf included.]

[1987]
"Quinoa is starting to get attention from chefs, and once in the hands of culinary geniuses, this old grain could well be included in a restaurant menu in no time."
("Specialty Food Show Grows With Its Market: A Range of Products...," Minni Mernardino, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1987 (p. H2))

[1989]
"Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is emerging from obscurity to become a popular substitute for rice and bulgur in side dishes and salads. One reason quinoa is catghin on is its extraordinarily high protein content. Another is its distinctive toasty flavor."
("The Vegetarian. Quinoa: Tasty Substitute," Diana Shaw, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1989 (p. WS42))
[NOTE: Includes recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh.]

"The so-called 'new grains' are not really new at all...Ethnic cuisines have paved the way for widespread interest in whole-grain cookery--familiar partners with couscous, arborio rice, polenta and bulgur. And today, as more Americans proceed from good taste to good health, a fascination with ancient forms of fiber--including such 'new grains' as amaranth, quinoa and tricale--has begun to develop...Triticale , quinoa...millet and amaranth are just few of teh equally versatile and delicious whole grains that have begun appearing on shelves next to the barley, bulgar and buckwheat as well as in recipe books...Quinoa, a tan-colored, birdseed-like grain is popular for its high grain protein and calcium content. It is high in the amino acid lysine, which most other whole grains lack, making it a complete source of protein. Quinoa seeds have a distinctive flavor upon cooking, and the grain is excellent in savory dishes. Because of a natural coating called saponin, quinoa requires thorough rinsing before cooking..."
("Timeless Grains," Toni Tipton, Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1989 (p. K1))

Available in http://www.foodtimeline.org/vegetables.html#quinoa. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.