/ck/ - Food & Cooking

if you just heard about it, you're a fast food eating slob and you probably clicked on a "5 crazy health secrets" banner ad by accident.

no, it will not taste good to you. but many other things - fresh vegetables, whole grains, plain yogurt - are also part of a healthy balanced diet and will not taste good to you.

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>>4936579

>>4936579
sry. why so mean? and i am not fat...
i like to try out new stuff and was just curious if you have experience with quinoa...

>>4936587
Quinoa is best in a salad, tabouli or whatever. If you expect it to be a substitute for rice trust me eating quinoa straight with a spoon gets fucking unpleasant fast.

>>4936587
>sry. why so mean?
lol

Seriously, it's just another small grain. Similar in use to rice. Tastes slightly nutty, slightly almond bitter, has a particular texture, a popping texture with a kind of toothsome aspect.

>>4936591
It's not unpleasant, just bland

I like to use it as side dish to legumes like lentils and beans (often spicy recipes). The taste-nontaste contrast is quite nice.

>>4936577
this is a great recipe
http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/buffalo-chicken-quinoa-salad/

>>4936662
looks nice!

i prefer it in desserts. use it in lieu of rice or tapioca for a pudding.

you can make a pretty health pudding if you use splenda.

I mix it with some beans, greens (I like spinach and kale the best), and whatever vegetables I have around to make a salad sort of thing. It's good on its own or in a tortilla.

It's also a nice replacement for rice. You can doll it up like a pilaf or even make fried quinoa with leftovers.

Be prepared, it is pronounced "keen-wa". Why? probably because the guy who found it in that country was a european proto-hipster.

>>4936844
I sort of do this, but I roll the tortilla into a burrito and toast/grill it. Eat with hot sauce or salsa. Good stuff.

>>4936577
quinoa is the worst. Please, refute this. There is not a single thing you can do to take away the bitterness.

>>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.

>>4937016
Fuck off mis-information dumby.

100% of bitterness is removed with a THOROUGH washing. Most dumbies don't wash or wash thoroughly. You need to be aggressive.

The result is delicious and nutritious

Think of it like rice, it doesn't have much flavor of its own.

>>4937016
Wash it. Also, if slight bitterness is a big issue to you, you just might be 2 years old.

Try quinoa soup

I mostly see it as rice with more protein. It's not some magic wonderfood. I enjoy the texture, it goes especially well in soups and stuffed peppers. If it were cheap I'd eat it more than rice. And I eat rice almost daily.

The price, even when buying in bulk, is just not worth it to me though.

And if you are a free trade/human welfare sort, you should know you're probably fucking over Peruvian farmers when you buy it. I do enjoy seeing clueless hipster sorts getting into it for that reason. US production is pretty limited to parts of Colorado right now.

it is not sustainable and you shouldn't be eating it.
the staple grain of people in bolivia has become so expensive due to first world hipster foodie demand that the native people can no longer afford to eat it and are starving to death in droves.

it doesn't even taste that good so it isnt worth killing people over

>>4938538

>>4938530
>>4938538
Well, will I be fucking over Peruvians or Bolivians? This is important.

>>4938538
>it is not sustainable
>starving themselves to death

not sure if troll

quinoa cultivation has doubled in some places thanks to demand.

I suppose you'd prefer we keep eating corn and Andean farmers remain poor but to sane people globalization isn't a pure evil or a pure good.

have fun with your confused hippie beliefs.

It tastes fucking disgusting, worse than Chinese herbal medicine. Fuck, why would anyone do this to themselves unless they're okay with popping pills instead of food?

>>4936577
Bretty good when hot and served with meat. Not quite as versatile as rice but not bad. Horridly flavorless when cold and mixed with vegan garbage.

Organic eater here.

Quinoa is best served when it's mixed with various spices. When it's boiling in the pot I add chili powder, cayenne, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper, tumeric, and some cilantro.

>>4939090

You obviously lack the ability to add flavor to it.

It's not like rice where it can be eaten plain.

This means you'll have to actually put in the effort to make it taste good which so many people struggle in this culture. You have to be creative and add various spices to it.

>>4939129
I just cook it in stock, I'm surprised to hear anyone likes rice plain, it seems equally bland to me without some extra care.

>>4939187
>I'm surprised to hear anyone likes rice plain, it seems equally bland to me without some extra care.

Do you complain that bread is too plain too?

>>4939129
>You obviously lack the ability

Go away, foodie.

Quinoa with feta cheese, olive oil and sliced kalamata olives is a nice side dish.
>>4936662
I'm going to try this!

>>4939197
Yes, that's why only poor Georgian era peasants eat plain bread.

>>4939252

So if I can make a wild guess here, you're eating a bowl of plain steamed rice as a complete meal, and you're complaining that it's bland?

Stop trying to be Asian, white boy. Or if you insist, at least do it right.

Highest level of protein of any grain. Also contains a blood-thinning agent.

>>4937079
This.

>>4936577
It's great with fish, try it with salmon next time, you won't be disappointed.

>>4936591
I find it to be on a level with rice, personally. So long as it's been salted, there's no issue.

Quinoa, pronounced Keen-Noah...

>>4939454
wrong. It's "Keen-Wah"

>>4939466
>"Keen-Wah"

LULZ!

>>4939466
>"Keen-Wah"

LULZ!

>>4939489
Actually, I'm right, and you're half-right:
/ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɨˈnoʊ.ə/,
(keen-wah) or (ken-noah)

>>4939499
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFpW7eoZxoY

Over all this time... Man, do I feel silly now... Sorry.