What To Do With Amaranth (2024)

FAQs

What do you do with amaranth? ›

Cooked amaranth can be used in soups, stews, chili or in place of rice in most recipes. Amaranth seeds can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 6 months. Amaranth flour can be used to make muffins, breads, and pancakes.

After posting this video on instagram, I heard from a few of my followers that they tried amaranth before, and it was bitter or off tasting. If that's the case, rinse before cooking to remove ​​saponin, a naturally occurring phytochemical that gives unwashed grain a bitter taste.

Soaking: If you have the time, consider soaking the amaranth overnight before cooking. "Soaking the grains makes their nutrients easier to digest and shortens the cooking time," says Ziata. Simply combine amaranth and water in a large bowl, completely submerging the grains.

Avoid eating too much amaranth from agricultural fields. The leaves (like those of spinach, sorrel and many other greens) also contain oxalic acid, which can be poisonous to livestock or to humans with kidney issues of eaten in large amounts.

A ban on the plant was made on religious grounds. The Catholic Church found the use of small cakes made of amaranth seed and honey (sometimes allegedly mixed with human blood) in pagan rituals, to be eerily similar to using the host during Mass, and declared it blasphemy.

If it isn't moldy, check to see if there is any odor coming from the amaranth. If it doesn't fall under either of those conditions, the taste can be off. It should be sweet and nutty. If it isn't, it may be rancid.

Amaranth is an ancient grain with a slightly sweet, nutty taste that works well in place of oatmeal. In addition to being gluten-free, amaranth is a good source of several key nutrients, including protein, fiber, iron, and manganese ( 1 ).

Amaranth leaves are usually picked fresh for use as greens in salads or blanched, steamed, boiled, fried in oil, and mixed with meat, fish, cucurbit seeds, groundnut or palm oil. Cooked greens can be used as a side dish, in soups or as an ingredient in sauce and baby food formulations.

To cook amaranth seeds, boil them just like rice or quinoa. The tiny granules stick together to form a porridge-like consistency. Some package instructions call for about two parts water for every one part grain, but you might need to increase the water to three parts.

Is amaranth better than quinoa? ›

Amaranth contains slightly more protein than quinoa, but they both provide double the amount you'll get from brown rice, oats and whole wheat. Amaranth has 9 grams of protein in a 1-cup serving, while quinoa has 8 grams, according to the USDA.

Amaranth leaves are a beautiful deep green leaves, sometimes streaked with red and purple and can be eaten raw when young and tender, but are traditionally cooked. The most likely cooking suggestion is to saute it with garlic, but you can use it anywhere you would include cooked spinach or Swiss chard.

Amaranth is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce medicinal products against atherosclerosis, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis, as well as antiseptic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory preparations [6]. According to Khare 2004, the seeds of Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.

Amaranth can be used in savory dishes as well as a sweet breakfast porridge, while the popped amaranth can be sprinkled over salads, stirred into soups, baked into breads and cookies, or simply enjoyed as a snack or even a breakfast cereal. The flour can be incorporated into baked goods like bread and pizza dough.

Step 1: Rinse: Place amaranth in a strainer and rinse well in warm filtered water. Step 2: Soak: When possible soak amaranth overnight to improve digestion and increase the absorption of nutrients.

Mild, nutty and malty tasting, amaranth comes in whole sand-coloured seeds, flour and flake form and also appears in processed products such as cereals and pasta.

We can't digest raw amaranth. It's like eating raw rice or raw beans. It'll pass right through our digestive tract without change. It's necessary to either cook it or puff it so we can digest it and enjoy the benefits of this amazing superfood.

Both the leaves and the seeds are nutritionally dense and are good sources of dietary fibre, calcium, and iron; the seeds are also high in protein. The leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked like spinach and are often added to salads or soups.