/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>4937016
>There is not a single thing you can do to take away the bitterness.
Uh...except wash it, which is the first thing OP should know about using it. Most quinoa in the US is prewashed, but you should still give it a rinse or two, the same way you'd wash rice. The bitterness is from a natural coating of saponin, and while there's some evidence it's actually a beneficial compound (aids in absorption of other nutrients), it does taste bitter.

Like others said, it's got a pretty bland flavor other than that, like many grain-like seeds. The nutritional benefit ("SUPERFOOD!") is hugely overblown by a well organized marketing association...it's got a bit more lysine (one of nine essential amino acids) than some common grains like oats, making it a "complete protein," but in the amount you'd normally eat other grains you'd get enough lysine anyway, or if you ate other common foods like legumes.

You can use it in a lot of dishes where you'd use other small grains (bulgur wheat, rice) or seeds (millet), in salads, as a cereal, in muffins, etc.

It does have a higher level of omega 3 fatty acids than common grains.

In summary, it's nutritious, but at several times the cost of many locally grown grains, it's not an economical food. You should buy it if you like it, and many people enjoy the slightly crunchy texture provided by its outer coat and the subtle flavor of the saponin, but not because of the "superfood" ad hype or the pop media that propagates the hype.

I like using quinoa just like you'd use bulgur wheat in a tabbouleh salad.

This bears similarities to tabbouleh, but uses quinnoa instead of bulgur wheat (bulgur is typically boiled and dried prior to sale). Note that quinnoa seeds generally have the hull removed, and are washed to get rid of bitter saponin, so if you're trying to avoid processed foods, it's hard to find natural unprocessed quinnoa in the US.

1 cup quinnoa
1 cup chopped parsley
6 chopped scallions
1-2 chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
Lemon
2 tbsp olive oil (or half a mashed avocado if you're avoiding olive processing)
Water (some seawater if you don't use processed or mined salt)

Use a cup of medium-sized quinnoa, rinse it, then soak in 2 cups of fresh water and 1 cup seawater for 6-18 hours. (Or just use fresh water and add two teaspoons of salt).

Pour off the excess water and mix in the other ingredients.Other fresh herbs are great too; mint, dill, or whatever you like. You can eat it plain, or serve it on a bed of spinach or other hardy leaf, or in lettuce wraps, or stuff tomatoes or bell peppers with it.