Here’s a quick one.
Popped amaranth. I’ve been asked about it by one of my friends.
Amaranth is what is sometimes referred to as a ‘pseudograin’. I think that this means that it is actually a seed with similar characteristics to that of a grain. Quinoa is also a pseudograin for example.
Amaranth does not contain gluten and is easily cooked in a variety of ways. You can cook it like rice with about a 3 to 1 water ratio. You can add it to baked products for additional nutrients. The seeds are tiny and will add a pleasant texture as well. You can sprout them. You can pop them like popcorn, and I believe you can add them to your cereal in the morning.
It’s a very nutritious ingredient, with high levels of important amino acids, “fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and especially manganese.”-(wikipedia.)
When I write of popped amaranth, I’m essentially referring to the process of popping the ‘pseudograin’ like I would corn. I heat one of my frying pans(not iron, something without too much of a sticky surface) to a very hot temperature, prepare a bowl, and get my splatter mesh shield.( Essentially a mesh plate that I put over my frying pan when there is a lot of splattering oil, or in this care “mini-popcorn”.)
I take a spoonful of the amaranth, throw it in the pan, immediately cover it with my mesh and watch with childish delight as the tiny little seeds pop and try to escape the pan. When most of the seeds have been popped, which shouldn’t take more than a few seconds if the pan is hot enough, I take the plan and throw the popped seeds into my bowl, thereby avoiding the burning of it’s newly revealed flesh. When I’ve popped enough, i use it for my recipes and/or keep it refrigerated for future use.(I heard that it’s important to keep refrigerated because of the oil it produces.)
The reason I pop it is to use as a binding ingredient in dishes, snacks that are moist and need a bit of texture. The energy bars I make, for example, which have both fresh pear and gummy dried dates in them, benefit greatly from the popped seeds.
I find the amaranth in most grocery food stores now. It isn’t very expensive and is easy to use and store.
amaranthus
This is picture I found on this wonderful blog post about farming amaranth written by Gary Rondeau. Well worth reading:
http://squashpractice.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/the-grand-amaranth-experiment/
Gabe,
Thanks for the nice reference. I’m going to have to try popping some of my harvest!
Gary
Thanks Gary,
I’ll be following your blog so keep up the good work.
Gabe
Can I make it without a mesh pan lid thingy? Just a reglar lid on my pan?
of course. I like using the mesh lid because I can see through it and it let’s out the small amount of smoke of the kernels that popped at the beginning and might be burning a bit.
[...] pear, cup of dates, cup of almonds, 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds, 1/2 of popped amaranth, 1/4 cup of carob chips, 2tbls of cacao powder, tbls of jasmine tea seeped in 1/4 cup of hot water, [...]
[...] that my mix was too moist. To rectify this I could have used a number of different solutions, popped amaranth for example, but instead chose to add wheat bran as an experiment. It is an ingredient rich in [...]