Quinoa, the mother of all grains
Quinoa is an annual plant (Chenopodium quinoa) that is grown as a grain, but botanically it's connected to spinach. Quinoa originates from the Anda region on the northwest of South America. Originally, five to seven thousand years ago, it was used as animal feed. People started consuming it around three to four thousand years ago at the Lake Titicaca basin in Peru and Bolivia. The most common type of quinoa is yellow colored, but there is also orange, pink, purple and black quinoa. The seeds, i.e. the quinoa grains, are small pellets, 1.3mm in diameter. The quinoa leaves are also edible and taste similar to spinach or mangold. Currently, quinoa is grown in Andes in Bolivia, Argentina and Peru, in Colorado and six European countries.
From the Andes to our plates
Quinoa was first domesticated by the Andean peoples. For a long period, it was an important grain in the Anda's culture, but it was relatively unknown to the rest of the world. The Incas who maintained this cultivation sacred, called it chisoya mamom or „the mother of all grain “. During the Spanish conquest of South America, the colonizers despised her as „Indian food "and repressed the cultivation of quinoa because of its status in the religious communities. Conquistadors forbade the farming of quinoa, and the Incas were instead forced to grow wheat. The legend says that the Spanish conquistadors destroyed the quinoa fields in their desire to rule the south American Indians. They declared quinoa cultivation illegal for Indians and punished the offenders with death. Measures this rigorous completely outrooted quinoa cultivation, luckily, not forever. In the 1980s two Americans rediscovered the nutritive potential of this ancient plant and they started cultivating it in Colorado. From then on quinoa has become more available and has delighted more and more people around the world with its exceptional nutritive characteristics and great taste.
Small seeds with great health benefits
Quinoa seeds are rich in protein, dietary fibers, antioxidants named flavonoids, vitamin b, dietary minerals in larger quantities that in other grains. An additional benefit is that they don't contain gluten. These seeds are not only nutritious but they are also very tasty and have a special slightly nutty taste and a gentle crunchy texture
The food of the future
The international organization for food and agriculture, FAO, has recognized the importance and value of quinoa because of various different benefits this plant offers. First of all, the genetic variable of quinoa is fascinating and provides a plethora of possibilities to create superior sorts. It is extremely resilient to different agroclimatic conditions which means it flourishes in different elevations and in a wide range of climates. It doesn't need much upkeep and it can survive on little or a lot of water. The NASA scientist consider quinoa a suitable culture that could even be grown in space because of its high nutritional value, practicality of use and cultivation. The UN proclaimed it the international food of the year in 2013 because of its high nutritional value and its potential to add to the assurance of a food supply around the globe.
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