Quinoa - pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family

Quinoa is the common name for Chenopodium quinoa, a flowering planting the amaranth family Amaranthaceae. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a grain crop primarily for its edible seeds. Because it is not a grass, it is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal.

It is an annual dicotyledonous plant and grows about 1 to 1.5 meter in height. Quinoa seeds are used as substitute of rice.

Quinoa has been cultivated in six South American countries even before the Inca culture. Archeologic research indicates cultivation as long ago as 5000 years before Birth of Christus in Ayacucho in Peru and 3000 years BC in Chinchorro in Chile.

Нis plant was called “the mother grain” by the Incas and was considered a gift from their gods, used even for treating medical issues. Traditionally, quinoa seeds were roasted and cooked, added to soups, used as a cereal, and even fermented into beer or chichi.

Quinoa is rich in A, B, C and E vitamins even though content of vitamin C decreases during long-term storage. The protein content of quinoa seeds ranges between 11% and 19%. Moreover, quinoa seeds contain all nine essential amino acids (EAA) for proper human health.

Quinoa has a high biological value (73%), similar to that of beef (74%), and higher than those of white rice (56%), wheat (49%) and corn (36%). Quinoa also contains all ten essential amino acids, and its protein content ranges from 12.9 to 16.5%.

The carbohydrate content of quinoa seeds ranges between 49% and 68% (dry matter weight). Starch is the main biopolymer constituent of plant organs, and is the most abundant carbohydrate presents in the seeds.
Quinoa - pseudocereal of the Chenopodiaceae family

Pseudocereal of buckwheat

Buckwheat noodles are mainly sold in the form of fresh and dried noodles in China. Buckwheat noodles are usually a combination of 70 percent hard wheat flour, 30 percent buckwheat and 28 percent water. The paste extruded directly into boiling water.

Buckwheat flour is gluten-free which makes it a good choice for anybody with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. Buckwheat is not a cereal grain but it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel. It is packed with nutrients and has a nice nutty flavor.

Buckwheat is an annual plant of Polygonaceae family with no relation between grains. It belongs to the group of buckwheat pseudo-cereals, that has different and identical characteristics like grains such as wheat, rice and barley.

The grain is generally used as human food and as animal or poultry feed, with the dehulled groats being cooked as porridge and the flour used in the preparation of pancakes, biscuits, noodles, cereals, etc.

Buckwheat is recognized as a good food source which is nutritionally valuable due to the content of protein, lipid, dietary fiber, and minerals, and in combination with other health-promoting components. The protein of buckwheat is of excellent quality and is high in the essential amino acid lysine, unlike common cereals.
Pseudocereal of buckwheat

Pseudocereal of buckwheat

Buckwheat belongs to the family Polygonaceae. Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) has been a crop of secondary importance in many countries.

It has persisted through centuries of civilization and enters into the agricultures of nearly every country where cereals are cultivated. Buckwheat is a plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds and also used as a cover crop. Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat, as it is not a grass.

This plant makes an aromatic flower and subsequently the buckwheat groats which are small triangle-shaped grain-like seeds covered by a hard shell.

In the United States the two buckwheat varieties are the common and Tartary types. The color can be anywhere from a tan-pink hue to brown. Buckwheat so also sold as roasted kasha, which is known for its subtler flavor.

Tartary buckwheat is known in various localities under such names as Duckwheat, Rye buckwheat, Marino, Mountain, Siberian, Wild Goose, Hull-less and Bloom-less.

The seed of buckwheat is cooked like rice or made into flour for the preparation of noodles, pancakes, porridge, cakes and biscuits.
Pseudocereal of buckwheat

Amaranth grain

Amaranth a little known crop of the Americas, it’s grown either as a grain crop or as a leafy vegetable. Amaranth grain is very small (about half the size of millet), and may be light yellow, brown-yellow or brown-black in color.

Amaranth grain species are ‘pseudocereals’. Well-known Amaranth grain includes A. cruentus, A. hypochonriacus and A. caudatus.  This species is a crop in the Andean highlands of Argentina, Peru and Bolivia.

Amaranth grain makes a tasty porridge and can be toasted to make crunchy topping. The flour must be mixed with other flour for baking.

Amaranth grain has a high protein as well as a high-fat content and can supply an excellent balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Amaranth has a protein content as high as 16%, which is somewhat higher than that found among commercial varieties of common cereals.

The grain is easy to digest and customarily given to those who are recovering from an illness or a fasting period.

Amaranth is high yield potential. It typically gives a grain yield of 2,250 – 4,500 kg/ha and fresh weight of leaf and stem of 30,000 – 60,000 kg/ha.
Amaranth grain