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processing quinoa seeds

 
Posts: 86
Location: central brittany, france
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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.
 
pollinator
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I've never grown Quinoa but I eat it quite a bit.  My kids don't like it because of the saponin induced bitterness.  I don't think you can totally get rid of the bitterness.   You have already rinsed it so you may want to try

1. Toasting it, quite a bit, in Olive oil, until it's brown.    2. Cooking it in broth.  I cook mine in chicken broth.  3. Adding sweet and salty ingredients will level out the bitterness.  4. Avoid adding other ingredients that are also bitter.

 
steward
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I saw these quinoa recipes taht I think look pretty tasty.





 
them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye singin' this'll be the day that I die. Drink tiny ad.
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