Quinoa ( or , from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa) is the common name for Chenopodium quinoa, a flowering plant in 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. Quinoa is closely related to the edible plants beetroot, spinach, and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), another pseudocereal which it closely resembles.
After harvest, the seeds are processed to remove the outer coating that contains bitter-tasting saponins. They are gluten-free. Generally, the seeds are cooked the same way as rice and can be used in a wide range of dishes. The leaves are sometimes eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but commercial availability of quinoa greens is limited.
When cooked, the nutrient composition is comparable to common cereals like wheat and rice, supplying a moderate amount of dietary fiber and minerals. Quinoa is a complete source of protein, and contains all nine essential amino acids. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations declared 2013 to be the "International Year of Quinoa".
Quinoa originated in the Andean region of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile, and was domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia, though archaeological evidence shows a non-domesticated association with pastoral herding 5,200 to 7,000 years ago.
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Biology
Description
Chenopodium quinoa is a dicotyledonous annual plant, usually about 1-2 m (3.3-6.6 ft) high. It has broad, generally powdery, hairy, lobed leaves, normally arranged alternately. The woody central stem is branched or unbranched depending on the variety and may be green, red or purple. The flowering panicles arise from the top of the plant or from leaf axils along the stem. Each panicle has a central axis from which a secondary axis emerges either with flowers (amaranthiform) or bearing a tertiary axis carrying the flowers (glomeruliform). The green hypogynous flowers have a simple perianth and are generally self-fertilizing. The fruits (seeds) are about 2 mm (0.08 in) in diameter and of various colors--from white to red or black, depending on the cultivar.
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. melanospermum) that grow in the area it is cultivated; these may either be related to wild predecessors, or they could be descendants of cultivated plants.
Saponins and oxalic acid
In their natural state, the seeds have a coating which contains bitter-tasting saponins, making them unpalatable. Most of the grain sold commercially has been processed to remove this coating. This bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as it deters birds and therefore the plant requires minimal protection. The genetic control of bitterness involves quantitative inheritance. Although lowering the saponin content through selective breeding to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties is complicated by ~10% cross-pollination, it is a major goal of quinoa breeding programs, which may include genetic engineering.
The toxicity category rating of the saponins in quinoa treats them as mild eye and respiratory irritants and as a low gastrointestinal irritant. In South America, the saponins have many uses, including their use as a detergent for clothing and washing, and as a folk medicine antiseptic for skin injuries.
Additionally, high levels of oxalic acid are in the leaves and stems of all species of the Chenopodium genus, and in the related genera of the Amaranthaceae family. The risks associated with quinoa are minimal, provided it is properly prepared and the leaves are not eaten to excess.
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Nutritional value
Raw, uncooked quinoa is 13% water, 64% carbohydrates, 14% protein and 6% fat (top nutrient table). Nutritional evaluations indicate that a 100 g (3.5 oz) serving of raw quinoa is a rich source (20% or higher of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several B vitamins and dietary minerals. (Refer to the top table.)
After cooking, which is the typical preparation for eating, quinoa is 72% water, 21% carbohydrates, 4% protein and 2% fat and its nutrient contents are collectively and substantially reduced. In a 100 g (3.5 oz) serving, cooked quinoa provides 120 calories and is an excellent source of manganese and phosphorus (30% and 22% DV, respectively), and a moderate source (10-19% DV) of dietary fiber, folate, and the dietary minerals, iron, zinc and magnesium. (See bottom table.)
Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Possibly owing to these qualities, it is an experimental crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied space flights.
Cultivation
Climate requirements
The plant's growth is highly variable due to the number of different subspecies, varieties and landraces (domesticated plants or animals adapted to the environment in which they originated). However, it is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy; it is grown from coastal regions to over 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Andes near the equator, with most of the cultivars being grown between 2,500 m (8,200 ft) and 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Depending on the variety, optimal growing conditions are in cool climates with temperatures that vary between -4 °C (25 °F) during the night to near 35 °C (95 °F) during the day. Some cultivars can withstand lower temperatures without damage. Light frosts normally do not affect the plants at any stage of development, except during flowering. Midsummer frosts during flowering, a frequent occurrence in the Andes, lead to sterilization of the pollen. Rainfall requirements are highly variable between the different cultivars, ranging from 300 to 1,000 mm (12 to 39 in) during the growing season. Growth is optimal with well-distributed rainfall during early growth and no rain during seed maturation and harvesting.
United States
Quinoa has been cultivated in the United States, primarily in the high elevation San Luis Valley of Colorado where it was introduced in 1983. In this high-altitude desert valley, maximum summer temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C (86 °F) and night temperatures are about 7 °C (45 °F). Due to the short growing season, North American cultivation requires short-maturity varieties, typically of Bolivian origin.
Europe
Several countries within Europe, including France, England, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain, have successfully grown quinoa on a commercial scale. As of 2015, within the UK, crops have been grown to scale and mechanically harvested in September.
Sowing
Quinoa plants do best in sandy, well-drained soils with a low nutrient content, moderate salinity, and a soil pH of 6 to 8.5. The seedbed must be well prepared and drained to avoid waterlogging.
Soil and pests
Yields are maximised when 170 to 200 kg (370 to 440 lb) N per hectare are available. The addition of phosphorus does not improve yield. In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a leaf miner that may reduce crop success. (It also affects the common weed and close relative Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.)
Genetics
The genome of quinoa was decoded in 2017 by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Through genetic engineering, the plant is being modified to have higher crop yield, improved tolerance to heat and biotic stress, and greater sweetness through saponin inhibition.
Harvesting
Traditionally, quinoa grain is harvested by hand, and only rarely by machine, because the extreme variability of the maturity period of most Quinoa cultivars complicates mechanization. Harvest needs to be precisely timed to avoid high seed losses from shattering, and different panicles on the same plant mature at different times. The crop yield in the Andean region (often around 3 t/ha up to 5 t/ha) is comparable to wheat yields . In the United States, varieties have been selected for uniformity of maturity and are mechanically harvested using conventional small grain combines.
Processing
The plants are allowed to stand until the stalks and seeds have dried out and the grain has reached a moisture content below 10%.
Handling involves threshing the seedheads from the chaff and winnowing the seed to remove the husk. Before storage, the seeds need to be dried in order to avoid germination. Dry seeds can be stored raw until being washed or mechanically processed to remove the pericarp to eliminate the bitter layer containing saponins. The seeds must be dried again before being stored and sold in stores.
History and culture
Early history
Quinoa was first domesticated by Andean peoples around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. It has been an important staple in the Andean cultures where the plant is indigenous but relatively obscure to the rest of the world. The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to it as chisoya mama or "mother of all grains", and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using "golden implements".
During the Spanish conquest of South America, the colonists scorned it as "food for Indians", and suppressed its cultivation, due to its status within indigenous religious ceremonies. The conquistadors forbade quinoa cultivation at one point, and the Incas were forced to grow wheat instead.
Rising popularity and crop value
Since the grain has become increasingly popular in countries where it is not typically grown, namely the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, China and Japan, the crop value has increased. Between 2006 and 2013, quinoa crop prices tripled. In 2011, the average price was US$3,115 per ton with some varieties selling as high as $8,000 per ton. This compares with wheat prices of $9 per bushel (about US$340 per ton), making wheat about 1/10 the value. Since the 1970s, producers' associations and cooperatives have worked toward greater producer control of the market. The higher prices make it harder for people to purchase, but also provide a livable income for farmers and enable many urban refugees to return to working the land.
The popularity of quinoa grain in non-indigenous regions has raised concerns over food security. Due to continued widespread poverty in regions where it is produced and because few other crops are compatible with the soil and climate in these regions, it has been suggested that the inflated price disrupts local access to food supplies. In 2013, The Guardian compared it to asparagus cultivated in Peru, a cash crop criticized for excessive water use and "feeding our apparently insatiable 365-day-a-year hunger for this luxury[...]"
It has been suggested that as people rise above subsistence-level income, they choose higher-status Western processed foods. However, anthropologist Pablo Laguna says that farmers are still saving a portion of the quinoa crop for their own use, and that the high prices affect nearby city dwellers more, but consumption in cities has traditionally been lower. According to Laguna, the net benefits of increased revenue for farmers outweigh the costs: it is "very good news for small, indigenous farmers". The transformation from a healthy staple food for farming families and communities into a product that is held to be worth too much to keep for oneself and one's family is an ongoing process. It is seen as a valuable resource that can bring in far greater amounts of cheap, low nutrient foods such as pasta and rice. It used to be seen as a peasant food that provided farming families with a very important source of nutrition, but now occupies a spectrum of uses, from an everyday food of urban Bolivia's middle class to a luxury food in the Peruvian capital of Lima where "it sells at a higher per pound price than chicken, and four times as much as rice". Efforts are being made in some areas to distribute it more widely and ensure that farming and poorer populations have access to it and have an understanding of its nutritional importance. These efforts include incorporating it into free school breakfasts and government provisions distributed to pregnant and nursing women in need.
Kosher controversy
Quinoa has become popular in the Jewish community as a substitute for the leavened grains that are forbidden during the Passover holiday. Several kosher certification organizations refuse to certify it as being kosher for Passover, citing reasons including its resemblance to prohibited grains or fear of cross-contamination of the product from nearby fields of prohibited grain or during packaging. However, in December 2013 the Orthodox Union, the world's largest kosher certification agency, announced it would begin certifying quinoa as kosher for Passover.
International Year of Quinoa, 2013
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the "International Year of Quinoa" in recognition of the ancestral practices of the Andean people, who have preserved it as a food for present and future generations, through knowledge and practices of living in harmony with nature. The objective was to draw the world's attention to the role that quinoa could play in providing food security, nutrition and poverty eradication in support of achieving Millennium Development Goals.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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