Quinoa

[David Lewis]

I went to a friends house for dinner the other night and she made Quinoa (pronounced, kin-wah). I’ve had Quinoa before but it never occured to me until then that this might be the perfert lightweight backpacking food. It weighs almost nothing and yet is one of the most nutritious grains available. Unlike other grains, it is also a complete protein. And it tastes great with a few seasonings. You cook it like rice… two parts water… simmer for 15 mins… which is doable with a simmering alcohol stove (the penny alcohol stove claims it can simmer for 40 mins per dose). Or you could just cook it at home and eat it cold… or whatever. Anyway, just thought I would mention this as we don’t often talk about how to make our food lighter (and yet still nutritious… unlike ramen noodles and most backpackers ‘just add water’ meals)… we tend to focus just on gear.

Here is a link I googled…

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/foods_view/0,1523,74,00.html

[david epley]

Quinoa makes an excellent trail food. Red quinoa is especially tasty with a light nutty flavor. There are also some tasty and quick cooking pastas made from quinoa and quinoa/corn blends. The blended ones are much better tasting than corn pasta and they cook in 4-6 minutes.

[Duane Hall]

I suspect you could reduce the cooking time in the field by cooking this stuff at home and then dehydrating it. This works very well for brown rice. I haven’t tried Quinoa myself – looks like something I’ll be investigating.

Cheers,

PKH

[Stephen Eggleston]

Rolled quinoa is available in many health food stores, often ina box and sometimes in bulk. Similar to rolled oats, it only takes a few minutes or less of cooking. I love taking this when backpacking as it is quick, nutritious, tasty and versatile. Super yummy when mixed with rolled quick oats.

[david epley]

I wouldn’t worry about precooking or even getting processed rolled quinoa. You don’t have to boils it for the entire cooking time, just get the water to a boil, add quinoa and whatever else, stir, and let it sit another 10 minutes or so. It works great.

[Duane Hall]

I tried Quinoa this way David – boil water and rehydrate, my standard cooking technique – and I found it was not quite cooked enough. It was edible but just a little too chewy for my tastes. I let it sit for about 20 minutes. I do see lots of potential for this tasty grain though, and I plan to cook up a batch and then dry it, in the same manner I would brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

[Rob Mcrae]

Guys, I am a vegan and Quinoa is a staple for me. I dehydrated cooked quinoa and took it to cook on the beach a few weeks ago, and I found that it was no different from when it was dry and uncooked, and that it definitely needed more cooking time than just adding boiling water and letting it sit- no matter how long I let it sit. My next test will be with cooking the quinoa, mashing it up and THEN dehydrating it= which will, I think, bypass the problem of the thick grain wall. They don’t sell quinoa flakes around here – but that sounds like a great idea too. Please post any experiments with this! It is true that quinoa is brilliant protein and ought to be considered with every trip.

[Tom Clark]

I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago while in the Sierra. One of the guys in my group is a vegitarian, and introduced us to it. I was hesitant at first, but it made a great meal and soaked up the spice nicely. I’ve been looking for it locally, but haven’t found it yet.

[David Lewis]

Look in the health food / organic section of your local grocery store… should be in the same place as all the rice / paste / etc. and / or packaged “bulk” goods.

[Ken White]

Altiplanogold is a California company that produces several instant hot quinoa cereals. I find them quite tasty although I hydrate with a little less water than they recommend.

http://altiplanogold.com/

[Tom Clark]

Thanks, I found some in the organic/rice/grain section of Wegmans. I tried the flakes, which were OK…but like Cream of Wheat or Oatmeal, I found them tastier with a little sugar. I missed the crunch that I got from the whole grain type.

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