Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) - Feedipedia

Common names 

Quinoa [English, French, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish, Tagalog]; Kinoa [Azerbaijani]; merlík [Czech]; tšiili hanemalts [Estonian]; Kvinoa [Finnish]; Andenhirse, Inkakorn, Inkareis, Perureis, Reismelde, Reisspinat, Reismelde [German]; Kinoa [Hungarian]; kinoa, kuinoa [Indonesian, Malaysian]; komosa ryżowa [Polish]; Kvinoja [Slovenian]; arroz andino, kinwa, quinua [Spanish]; Mjölmålla [Swedish]; Kinoaу [Turkish]; Diêm mạch [Vietnamese]; Κινόα [Greek]; Киноа [Russian, Bielorussian]; كينوا [Arabic]; کینوآ [Farsi]; עברית [Hebrew]; ] 藜麥 [Chinese]; キヌア[Japanese]; 퀴노아 [Korean]

Description 

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an Andean pseudo-cereal crop that is mainly cultivated for its energy and protein-rich, gluten-free seeds. Quinoa can be grown as a green vegetable, and its leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked. Leaves, seeds and crop residues from grain harvesting and milling can be fed to livestock.

Utilization

Quinoa seeds (grain) are used as staple food or as an alternative energy-rich, gluten-free grain with high protein content, valuable essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants. Quinoa grain can be cooked (boiled) in the same manner as rice and provides a tasty, fluffy, chewy food with nutlike flavour. It can be added to soups, stews or "tamales". Quinoa grain can be used as a breakfast cereal or it can be ground to make porridge or flour and is then used in bakery to make, breads, pancakes, pastries and biscuits. It can partially replace wheat in loaf breads (Lim, 2013). Being gluten-free, quinoa grain is included in many food recipes intended for people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and is well accepted by consumers (Lim, 2013). The grain can be fermented to prepare hot or cold beverages and beer. It can be used in the preparation of chicha, a reference beverage on South America (Metheny et al., 2015). A nutritive drink consisting of a mixture of quinoa grain, mesquite (Prosopis chilensis) and lupine (Lupinus albus), flavoured with raspberry pulp has been used for the re-nutrition of undernourrished children (Cerezal Mezquita et al., 2012). Quinoa has functional properties that make it valuable technological ingredient for the food industry (Abugoch James, 2009). Quinoa yields a valuable oil rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and in vitamin E (Lim, 2013). Quinoa leaves are used as potherb. They can be eaten raw in salad or cooked like spinaches (Ecocrop, 2019; Maughan et al., 2007). Ear quinoa can be prepared in pickles (Lim, 2013). The leaves, stems and grain have medicinal uses (Hernandez Bermejo et al., 1994)

Quinoa grain, vegetative parts, crop residues and processing by-products can be used to feed livestock (Blanco Callisaya, 2015). All parts of the quinoa plant were fed to camelids prior to Conquistador invasion. After the invasion, it was fed to cattle, sheep, pigs and birds (Hernandez Bermejo et al., 1994). The quinoa crop provides a range of feeds for farm animals: