Fermented quinoa??

Can somebody advise me please?

I soaked some quinoa with the idea of boiling them the next day ... but I forgot! Two and a half days later I remembered and made ready to put them in a pot. But I found a bowl of very frothy quinoa and soak water ...  so I tasted the water and it was almost like a light beer -  not unpleasant at all! Can this be used as a drink (ice cold, I think it would be very refreshing!) ... and I can still cook the quinoa? Or is this something that already exists ... perhaps with some kind of additional flavouring - if at all necessary?

There have been many drinks made from fermented grains. Beer is the most famous. I would try to smell it to see if it smells like sauerkraut,food,  or moldy.
John s
Pdx or

Sounds like chilling the liquid and preparing the quinoa to eat would be a good thing to try. Maybe putting the quinoa in a cold salad may be good. Might not even have to cook it!

Thanks for the quick responses!

John ... It definitely does not smell moldy ...it smells, and tastes almost fruity! Oddly enough it is vaguely the same taste as the wild fermented oak leaves I'm trying. Should I add a little honey or date syrup (not sugar - too crude for me) ... or do I simply leave to become 'dry' quinoa-ade!? I do not drink alcohol (well OK, most of the fermented fruits have some in them, but I'm not after that rush).

Liz ... you mean eat the quinoa raw? If so, should I soak them AND sprout them? Never tried that before but, hey, anything to save on the electric! The quinoa are now happily cooking in my solar oven ... which, for me, seems to produced the best boiled rice ... ever!

To be honest I've never eaten quinoa. I do know that some cultures ferment raw fish/meat and eat it without further cooking. We know that fermenting makes food more digestible. With these things in mind, try it! You may want to try fermenting different periods of time to make the quinoa more tender. This may increase the alcohol content of the liquid, though. Sprouting sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if fermented grains would sprout. You may want to use a combination of sprouted and fermented grains.

Grains that have been soaked then sprouted are ... AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! I've tried sunflowers, wheat, and even rice. It is called 'malting' but when I tried it with wheat what I got was dried sprouted wheat that had the slightest maltiness ... it needed to be boiled, reduced and then the must removed to reveal the malt. The best time it worked was producing Essene bread ... totally excellent! Apparently the Essences would mash up the sprouts into a very sticky dough (great fun for the kids!), then place the mash on a rock and ask for the angel of the sun and the angel of the air to bless it. By the end of the day there would be the bread - hot, tasty, and cut ready to eat! (OK  ... I made up the last bit ... but it is truly heavenly!)

WHOA ...! Just cooked the quinoa in their own ferment ... Unbelievable flavour!! You have to try this folks!

What you made, the liquid part is called rejuvelac. I know, bit of a hokey name . Definitely drinkable!

The fermentation of your pot of quinoa sort of disqualifies it for sprouting, but the seed is waking up and both that and the microbes are producing enzymes and assist in digestion of the grain and reduce anti-nutrients like phytic acid.  The improved flavor probably came from the souring of the grain.  I have a friend who swears by sour porage for breakfast, although I do not think he uses quinoa.

David Hernick wrote:The fermentation of your pot of quinoa sort of disqualifies it for sprouting...

Maybe. I know someone who says quinoa doesn't need presprouting before drowning. I've tried sprouting it and it is extremely quick, so maybe it can sprout under water before it ferments? No idea, lol. I suppose I could do a side by side, but I'd need a lens to see the tiny things.

Fermented porridge can be delicious, but personally I don't like it too fermented.

This is great to know.

BTW, if it ever happens to happen again, and if you want to try something different, the South India pancakes called dosa are made by soaking rice and/or dried beans for a day or two in tropical weather so they start to sour, and then grinding them up into batter and making pancakes. They are very delicious, lightly sour, bubbly-crispy, and great with a savoury curry or dal.