Quinoa, the nutritious pseudocereal.

Famous for a long time in the world of vegetarian dishes, quinoa actually has every right to be considered an excellent addition to any diet: ideal for making soups or risottos, its seeds have been used for millennia in the Andes, the place of origin of this plant, where they were consumed in a myriad of different preparations – including one that is a bit less healthy than the others, which transformed the seeds into a fermented product, chicha.

It is known for certain that this seed was domesticated four thousand years ago in the geographic area currently occupied by Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. As we also write on the page dedicated to quinoa, it was originally considered a sacred plant, which made its cultivation problematic after the conquest of the Americas: the Catholic Church, in fact, did not look favorably on the connection between this chenopodiaceae and paganism, banning its sowing.

The survival of quinoa

Despite the bans and misunderstandings from Europeans, who considered quinoa to be a food of low category, the Incas preserved the cultivation of their sacred plant, allowing us to reevaluate it in more recent times. Modernly, we know that it is a source of both lysine and methionine, fundamental ingredients for building proteins: legumes and cereals must be combined with each other to provide the same protein intake.

For centuries, this characteristic of quinoa seeds has helped poor people to cope with the lack of meat, introducing an alternative and low-cost protein source; rich in starch and minerals, quinoa is also gluten-free, making it suitable for consumption by individuals with celiac disease.
Its nutritional values made it the queen of 2013, declared by the United Nations Assembly as the International Year of Quinoa, also in honor of the populations that preserved it from extinction in past centuries.

Insights into the characteristics of quinoa

Cholesterol-free, quinoa is a good source of fiber and carbohydrates: it can be consumed as a main meal, and to enrich its flavor, it is possible to add vegetables and other ingredients to its preparation, both as a hot dish (winter) and as a cold salad (summer), similar to what one would do when preparing a good couscous.

Quinoa seeds have various colors, ranging from pale yellow to black: the visual impact of a dish based on quinoa will never be the same, thus allowing the creation of always different combinations. Even the sprouts and leaves can be consumed, although they are much rarer to find commercially on shelves (both physical and electronic).

Our quinoa-based products

On Spaghetti&Mandolino, you will find a wide selection of pasta shapes made with quinoa, rice, and amaranth, as well as the pseudocereal in grains to consume at your leisure, creating new recipes or following the preparation tips suggested for each of our products: discover them below!