Data source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 168874 (Quinoa, uncooked).
Fun facts
- Quinoa is eaten like rice, but it is not a cereal grain. It is the seed of a plant in the same family as amaranth, spinach and beets, grown for thousands of years in the Andes of South America.
- 100g of dry quinoa has 14.1g of protein, nearly double white rice, plus 7g of fiber. Potassium is about 563mg, high for a starchy food.
- Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, which is uncommon for a plant. The United Nations even named 2013 the International Year of Quinoa.
- The seed coat carries bitter saponins that help protect the plant. Most packaged quinoa is pre-rinsed, but a rinse at home still makes it taste better.
Choosing and storing
Quinoa comes in three common colors: white is the softest, while red and black are chewier and hold their shape well in salads. Choose a sealed pack with dry, loose seeds, no clumps and no odd smell. After opening, keep it in a sealed container somewhere cool and dry, or in the fridge, since its 6.1g of fat can go rancid over time.
Cooking it well
Rinse quinoa in a sieve under running water a few times until the foam is gone; that foam is saponin. Cook it with about twice as much water on low heat for around 15 minutes, until each seed shows a tiny spiral tail. Turn off the heat, cover, let it rest a few minutes, then fluff. Read what is quinoa for ideas on what to pair it with. At kOBE, our Quinoa is cooked and then frozen, about 120 kcal and 4.4g of protein per 100g.