Hello,
I have just collected and winnowed this years quinoa harvest.
I grew 5 or 6 different varieties that i let cross freely.
Now growing it is no problem. It sets tons of seeds here in britanny, France and doesn't get any diseases.
I then hang the plants up to dry and collect the seed by rubbing the heads between my hands over a plastic sheet.
Then i use different sized sieves to end up with the seeds only.
The last step is to pour the seeds from one bucket into another in front of a fan (i actually used a hair-dryer cause i don't have a fan) to get rid of the last impurities.
So far so good.
But then unfortunately the seeds are coated with saponins and i washed them, whilst stirring them with a wisk, 5 times in cold water and still
after cooking them a strong, unpleasant, bitter taste remains
So does anyone here have any idea on how to turn these seeds into a tasty meal?
I recall reading somewhere to let them soak over night and wash them the next day but i haven't tried this yet.
I also read that the commercial quinoa seed is turned in big barrel-like mashines with an abrasive coating like sandpaper that scrubbs off the saponins.
I really like to grow this stuff and it yields very well for me but if i don't find an easy
enough solution to getting rid of the saponins i might stop growing it or maybe switch to trying amaranth.