A Little Discussion about Quinoa

[Antilogic]

Quinoa. Do you eat it? Can you pronounce it?

My brother swears by it, and I've consumed it exactly three times and have been singularly unimpressed with the flavor and texture. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a flavor, but unlike the other mostly-flavorless grains I eat like rice, I'm not used to it therefore I don't like it.

Is there a prep method that makes this stuff more delicious?

 

[Murky]

Yes, on occasion I'll make Quinoa (Ki-n-wa). Goes great in soups.

 

[Dachs]

I know how to pronounce it and I eat it from time to time, but I also think that it tastes extremely meh and that the texture leaves a lot to be desired. Needs to be combined with other things to be any good. Grits or rice are both a lot better.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I like it, but I have only ever had it in those microwavable side-dish packets. Never made it myself and in the packets it's usually paired with rice and flavoring.

Keen-no-a
Shoot what's that service where I can record my voice and post it?

 

[illram]

It's good. It needs to go with something though. It's an acceptable addition to the rice/cous cous/pasta filler lineup.

 

[Antilogic]

Every time I've eaten it (twice was at my parent's house w/ my brother in the kitchen, once was at lunch an hour ago from a restaurant), it's been mixed with rice and veggies. And the quinoa is definitely the least satisfying element in these different dishes. Plain rice and veggies would have tasted a lot better and not had a... for the lack of a better word, mushy texture.

 

[peter grimes]

We eat it, we love it.

It's far less finicky to make than rice, in that you have wide latitude in cooking time and moisture level. It keeps for days without needing go be reheated, has a delicate nutty flavor, and can be added to nearly anything.

We keep a batch in the fridge and will toss it into just about anything - eggs, salads, pastas.

My favorite Quinoa:
http://pinterest.com/tiffanywbwg/my-imaginary-well-dressed-toddler-daughter/

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Mushy? Hmm I must be mistaken because the Quinoa I've had was little black balls (around the size of sesame seeds but spherical) and were crunchy.

 

[Murky]

Mushy? Hmm I must be mistaken because the Quinoa I've had was little black balls (around the size of sesame seeds but spherical) and were crunchy.

That sounds more like Chia Seeds to me. Quinoa is a light-brown grain that's sort of like a small string wound-up in a little circle.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Hmm that looks just like what I had. You know what, now that you mention it I think it was the Qinoa with little black Chia seed in it. Wasn't bad. Still don't remember it being particularly mushy.

 

[warpus]

It's popular in Peru, so I ate a whole bunch of it when I was on my trip last year. It's also supposedly healthy - my parents and sisters have been making it from time to time as an alternative to rice or mashed potatoes.

It's not bad. put bacon on it

 

[Antilogic]

It's not bad. put bacon on it

Genius.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

It's not bad. put bacon on it

Words to live by.

Edit: Goddamn space ninjas. This is why you never have lab bench space Antilogic - put the phone down!

 

[Zelig]

It's good. It needs to go with something though. It's an acceptable addition to the rice/cous cous/pasta filler lineup.

Yeah, I alternate that line-up pretty much evenly to go with my mountains of vegetables.

 

[Murky]

One nice thing is that it's gluten-free so if you have trouble with digesting Wheat it's a good whole-grain alternative.

 

[Zelig]

Gluten-free is an annoying fad.

 

[warpus]

My sister is allergic to it, making it annoying when we get together as a family. We're going to a cottage for a week, all of us.. I get to cook dinner for everybody on Monday - I had to figure out how to make a meal that's gluten, mango, soy, and milk free. Almost impossible but I pulled it off

 

[peter grimes]

Gluten-free is an annoying fad.

I'd like to agree with you, but people who suffer from celiac disease have a serious problem with it.

However, I'm afraid far to many people self-diagnose and claim a "food allergy" which is, numerically, rare.

 

[Murky]

I've had the allergy test done and now I carry a card for proof that I have an allergic reaction to Wheat. I don't know about if I have celiac disease though.

 

[BvBPL]

I like it more than couscous, less than rice. My girlfriend does like it quite a bit though.

For me, the flavor is not dissimilar to brown rice.