making Quinoa palatable

[spero]

Any ideas on removing the bitterness (saponins, I am told) from home grown quinoa ? The quinoa I buy in the store is not bitter. I grew 6 varieties, and they all are quite bitter. I have tried rinsing (as many as 15 rinses) and the bitterness, while diminished, is still there. How can this bitterness be removed ? - JS

[castanea]

Most things I've read says it is "easy" to remove the saponins by simple rinsing from 1 - 3 times but as you found out, that's not true for most varieties. It has to be soaked for 2-3 hours to loosen up the saponins, then change the water, soak for another 1-2 hours, and then rinse a couple of times.

What varieties did you grow? Are you growing them in an area with cool summers?

[orflo]

I have a hard time with quinoa as well, the saponins don't get washed away easily.
Even after soaking/rinsing it still remains very bitter, although the bitterness is reduced somewhat. I tried some varieties for a Belgian climate (isluga yellow, chilean, temuco (you've grown that one, Jonathan and some others that couldn't stand the autumn rains), but I had the same results every time, a good harvest, but the taste just is too bitter, and yes, I tried soaking them for a few hours ... without good results

[spero]

I soaked the last varieties (including the Temuco over a period of 48 hours (soak, rinse, leave to soak in a jar full of water, repeat at least a dozen times), and still have some bitterness. There has to be something else the producers of the quinoa I can buy in a store do to make it palatable.

[spacecase0]

what I read is that they rinse it with only cold water,
if you do it with warm water, the saponins seep into the seed and then it is very hard to get out.
the original native method is only referred to as "very complex", but I can't seem to find out what it is.

I rinse with continuously moving cold water in a fine mesh screen while I scrub them together with my fingers.

then when I cook it, I scoop off any foam that forms on top of the water because that foam is where the saponins are. then I turn up the heat and boil it very hard for 2 to 3 min. as this destroys the rest of the active effects of the saponins.

[orflo]

Over here another method is described briefly, it does include rinsing, but only after the quinoa has been roasted and trampled (at least, that's how I understand it), it does take up quite a lot of time though...especially if you don't have that machine mentioned in the article
www.underutilized-species.org/features/quinoa.htm

[bunkie]

i wonder if the bitterness would leave if it were sprouted for sprout food/greens? we'll be growing it for the first time this spring.

[spacecase0]

I thought that the saponins prevented sprouting until the rain washes it off...
now I will have to try to sprout it and see what it is like that way...

[stevil]

I've been growing Quinoa for almost 20 years and I've always boiled up 3 times, throwing away the water each time, the water clearly very soapy. Although it still can be slightly bitter at the end, I think I have over the years become less sensitive to bitter tastes, although that can be an age thing.. However, I would normally serve Quinoa flavoured with tomatoes, chile, garlic etc so that I don't notice the bitterness.

I've assumed that commercial seed is polished, most of the saponins being perhaps near the surface, although I'm probably totally wrong!

Don't think the saponins prevent sprouting (more anti-insect I would think) as one of the problems is that they sometimes germinate on the plant before I can harvest the seed...

[grunt]

The saponins are anti insect and anti bird. US scientists actually developed a very low saponin variety of quinoa, and gave it to the locals in one area that grows it extensively. Second year round, no one was interested in using the seeds, because the birds had harvested the entire crop of their first grow out of it.

[grunt]

Just read the article ( www.underutilized-species.org/features/quinoa.htm ) that Orflo gave the link to. Anybody out there a rock hound in addition to being a growing junkie? It strikes me that, if you roasted the quinoa, as per the article, and put in in a rock polishing tumbler, or something similar, you could achieve the same or similar results without too much labor being involved. Or maybe bag your quinoa and run it through the washing machine a couple of times, using only cold water. If anyone out there has enough extra grain to experiment with, it might be worth a try?

[plantsnobin]

Anyone tried using the water as a cleaning agent? I ordered seeds a couple years ago, but never did get them planted. I didn't realize they were high in saponins. Seems like maybe one of those crops not worth bothering with-sounds like you would expend more calories prepping it than you would gain eating it.

[ottawagardener]

Bag it, wash you clothes then rinse and boil?



Interesting...

[trixtrax]

I have had good success using my friend's method. He is from Ecuador, but only started relishing quinoa really only after he moved here. The method is to rinse the quinoa of dirt, etc then pore that into a bowl and add lukewarm water. Put your hands in the mix and give it a good massage for about 10min until the water seems to not being getting any more soapy. The water will get cloudly and soapy. Pour that into another container to save. Rinse and cook down to reduction, stirring so the bottom doesn't burn. White and red types from the co-op seem to work the best. Some types may still need a quick boil then water change. The soapy mixture he uses as insect deterrent along with catnip tea on crops that don't have edible leaves. Combats many things including flea beetle.

This method make quinoa that to my taste is not bitter.

Karen - I'm interested, what cleaning properties do saponins have?

[greenfinger]

Go buy yourself a grain mill. I got one from Big Lots for corn, $25.00. It's sure to be more difficult to grind than the one's I covet, but it gets the work done without breaking a sweat.
Make lots of corn bread. Leftovers? Corn bread dressing with raisins, or chopped dried apricots and chopped nuts added in.
Cornmeal mush. 2 3/4c water, 1 c cornmeal, 1c cold water, 1t salt. Boil first water with salt. stir cornmeal into cold water. pour in a steady stream into pot, while wisking. Cook 10-15 mins. (or up to 30 mins if it is a very coarse grind) Leftovers? Polenta! Pour leftovers into pie pan, refrigerate at least 1 hour. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 mins, or until warm. cut into sections, serve topped with salsa.

Uhhhh, This is supposed to be in the corn palatable post . Oops!