Quinoa

Quinoa is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds.

Considered to be a grain crop, it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, as it is not a

grass. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial

availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

Quinoa comes from the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food

for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa is generally

undemanding and altitude-hardy, so it can be easily cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000

meters. Even so, it grows best in well-drained soils and requires a relatively long growing season.

In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a leaf miner that may reduce crop success; this leaf

miner also affects the common weed Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.

Similar Chenopodium species were probably grown in North America before maize agriculture

became popular. Chenopodiums were also used in Europe as greens. Fat Hen (Chenopodium album) which

has a widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, produces edible seeds and greens much

like quinoa, but in lower quantities. Caution should be exercised in collecting this weed, however,

because when growing in heavily fertilized agricultural fields it can accumulate dangerously high

concentrations of nitrates.

The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as "chisaya mama" or "mother

of all grains", and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the

season using 'golden implements'. During the European conquest of South America quinoa was scorned

by the Spanish colonists as "food for Indians", and even actively suppressed, due to its status

within indigenous non-Christian ceremonies.

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance within pre-columbian Andean civilizations, being

secondary only to the potato, and followed in third place by maize. In contemporary times this crop

has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, and the United Nations has classified

it as a supercrop for its very high protein content (13%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in

lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually

complete foodstuff. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein.

It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is

gluten free and considered easy to digest.

In its natural state quinoa has a coating of bitter-tasting saponins, making it essentially

unpalatable. Most quinoa sold commercially in North America has been processed to remove this

coating. Some have speculated that this bitter coating may have caused the Europeans who first

encountered quinoa to reject it as a food source, even as they adopted other indigenous products of

the Americas like maize and potatoes. However, this bitterness has beneficial effects in terms of

cultivation, as it is a crop that is relatively untouched by birds and thus requires minimal

protection. There have been attempts made to lower the saponin content of quinoa through selective

breeding in order to produce sweeter and more palatable varieties of the crop. However when these

varieties were introduced by agronomists to native growers in the high plateaux, they were rejected

after just one season. The growers returned to their traditional high saponin varieties, the reason

being that despite the newer varieties giving 'magnificent' yields, birds had consumed the entire

crop.