When I was a kid I loved to watch TV with my mum, in the evening, gossiping about my schoolmates and eating some salty (very salty) puff-corn, while she got the sweet ones. At that time I had have never thought that it was possible to pop other things that pop-corn. After all, have you ever heard another word starting with "puff-" other that "puff-corn"??
Well, after few years, I can say YES. I have discovered so many different things to pop, and I am always learning (with a lot of burning here and there, of course). Yesterday one of my clients asked about quinoa. And I am asking it to you now: is it possible to puff quinoa? Of course it is! And here are 5 easy steps to do it!
Step 1
Take a strainer and pour the quinoa into it. Once done, rinse it properly under cold running water. Before eating, it is important to rinse off the saponin, because it is a bitter substance present in quinoa. This bitterness can have beneficial effects in terms of cultivation, as it is a crop that is relatively untouched by birds and thus requires minimal protection. But it also represents the major anti-nutritional factor found in the grain. Fortunately, most of these saponins are concentrated in the outer layers of the grain (seed coat, and a cuticle-like layer) which facilitates their removal industrially by washing the grains with water.
Step 2
Get a baking sheet and spread the rinsed quinoa on it. Once done, you can take an oven to dry it as low as possible by keeping the door propped open. Make sure that you stir the grain regularly so that it dries up thoroughly.
Step 3
Take A high quality-bottomed pot and heat it over a burner emitting moderate heat.One done, take 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and swirl it in such a manner that it completely covers the bottom. To create a single layer across the bottom, pour sufficient quantity of quinoa on it.
Step 4
Get the lid and cover it tightly. Once done, shake the pot constantly as the quinoa starts popping.
Step 5
Take a waiting bowl and pour the puffed quinoa into it just after the popping sound slows.
And.. PUFF: PUFFED QUINOA IT WILL BE! You can then eat the puffed quinoa or treat it as an ingredient in baking and cookies. How did your come out? Let me know!
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This post first appeared on April 2, 2014 on the Well Being Nourish site.
About the Author
Alice Bianchi is a certified health coach based in Beijing. She has a passion for working with individuals and families to improve their health and lifestyle. Alice strives to create a supportive environment to motivate her clients to achieve their current and future health goals. She received her training at Institute for Integrative Nutrition-New York (IIN) and is a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). She has obtained Continuing Education from Venice University, Beijing Capital Normal University, Taipei University, Peking University and has been living in China for the past seven years. Alice is also actively involved in the Slow Food Beijing planning activities (www.slowfood-beijing.org). For more information, visit her blog at www.wellbeingnourish.com.
Photo courtesy of Well Being Nourish & Luis Tamayo (Flickr)
