Quinoa didn’t originally come from India, instead, it has been grown in South America for thousands of years. However, in recent years India’s farmers did produce 10,000 tons of quinoa annually, which is 11% of what South America grows (90,000 tons a year). Quinoa has gotten a lot of publicity recently because it is a very healthy seed.
What is quinoa and where does it come from?
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is the seed of the Chenopodium quinoa plant. Botanically speaking, it’s not a grain. However, it’s often called a “pseudograin” because it’s similar in nutrients and eaten the same way as cereal grains (1). Quinoa was first grown for food 7,000 years ago in the Andes.
Quinoa is not a grass, but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth ( Amaranthus spp. ), and originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. It was first used to feed livestock 5.2–7.0 thousand years ago, and for human consumption 3–4 thousand years ago in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia.
Quinoa is an ancient grain, a food that has been a staple part of the diet in the Andes region of South America for thousands of years. It was cultivated by the Incas, who referred to it as “the mother of all grains,” and was an important part of their food culture.
What is the natural distribution of quinoa?
, and natural distribution . Chenopodium quinoa is believed to have been domesticated in the Peruvian Andes from wild or weed populations of the same species. There are non-cultivated quinoa plants (Chenopodium quinoa var.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa; (/ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɪˈnoʊ.ə/, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa) is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a grain crop primarily for its edible seeds.
Is quinoa a herbaceous plant?
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa; / ˈkiːnwɑː / or / kɪˈnoʊ.ə /, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa) is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and dietary minerals in amounts greater than in many grains.
Is Peru’s quinoa organic?
In the last few years Peru has also become a major player in the quinoa market. However, unlike in Bolivia, the majority of the country’s quinoa is not organic.