Discover the wonders of gluten-free ancient grain amaranth and join the Grains Explorer Challenge 2024. All about this nutritious superfood!
The Nutritional Powerhouse: Amaranth’s Ancient Gluten-Free Goodness
Amaranth is the new grain for the Grains Explorer Challenge this month. In this informative video, you will learn about the history and overview of amaranth, its nutritional benefits, how it is used, and how you can incorporate it into your kitchen. Amaranth is a gluten-free ancient grain that has been consumed for centuries and is known for its impressive nutritional profile.
With high levels of protein, fiber, and various vitamins and minerals, including iron and magnesium, amaranth is a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes. Whether you want to cook it whole, pop it like popcorn, or grind it into flour, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the benefits of amaranth in your diet. Explore the world of ancient grains and discover the unique flavors and textures they can bring to your meals.
Amaranth: The Mighty Marvel of Gluten-Free Grains
Welcome to May it is now time to finally introduce another grain in our grains Explorer challenge for 2024 and this month is a very surprising grain it’s actually technically not seen as a grain but it is considered a super grain and it is actually disrupting a bit of what we may know about history so stay tuned because in this video we’re going to be.
Talking all about amorance hey y’all welcome back to grains and grit my name is Felicia and on this channel we talk all things real whole grains all from a Biblical perspective so for those of you who are new we are doing the grains Explorer challenge for the year of 2024 which means that each.
And every month I’m going to be introducing a new grain that is possibly new to you to help us expand our Horizons and kind of in a way ENC encourage us to try out grains that you may have not tried before or maybe you haven’t even heard about every month I post a meet the grain video to introduce that grain for that month and you can.
Certainly follow along you can follow us on Instagram here on YouTube however which way you like it however for the full adventure be sure to check out the grainy bunch and join us grainy over there in the graany bunch because they actually receive the full adventure which means extra recipes a bonus video um extra content live Hangouts a private.
Miwe group and more so to check all that out just go to grains and grit.com /g grains Explorer that’s also where you can sign up for the grainy Bunch if you choose to do so and in the meantime if this is kind of your first video be sure to check up here with the playlist whoever it may be to catch up with all the grains that we have been doing this.
Year now as always what will be be covering this video is first a general overview and history of amarant the nutritional benefits what amaran is generally used for today and then we’re going to wrap it all up with how you can actually use this fascinating little grain in your kitchen at home now first be sure to comment below about your.
Experience with Emir have you heard of it are you familiar with it have you used it what are your favorite recipes all the things let us know in the comments below so first up let’s talk about a general overview and history of amaran and I have to say when researching this it truly is fascinating I say that every month but it is because.
I learn things every single month and it’s truly amazing to see God’s design especially when it comes to his grains now first and foremost amaranth is technically by our modern scientific classification standard is not considered a grain or specifically one of the cereal grains like wheat barley and oats it’s actually considered a.
Pseudo cereal but it is it’s seen as a whole grain but technically not one of the typical whole grains that we know bottom line the way that I see it is God gave us every seed for us to eat grains are seed no matter how they’re harvested so that’s how I see it that’s why I just classify this as just a grain as God intended it to be now it is very unique.
Because it’s definitely not on your typical grain looking type plants like wheat barley and oats it actually is a flowering plant that can grow seven to eight to 9 feet tall has a very thick stalk like um the sunflower seeds if you ever or sunflowers if you’ve ever seen sunflowers growing up in the fields amaranth is similar to that very unique.
Ornamental flower as well and amaranth is actually harvested from inside the flowers the flowers actually contain the seeds and that’s where we receive amaranth it is also another teeny tiny little grain like te like we explored last month now it is easily adaptable to different growing conditions and is very drought resistant and amaran today is.
Definitely found all over the world and scientists estimate around 70 different varieties but only about a dozen or so have been cultivated by humans all around the world to cultivate for our use now let’s talk about the origins the history of amaranth so the word amaranth actually comes from the Greek word amarantos amarantos I don’t speak Greek.
Let me know if I pronounce that correctly which actually means one that does not wither or never fading and that is because the beautiful flowers actually do not fade they do their color does not go away they look they still look beautiful even after being cut and dried unlike other flowers if you’ve had flowers before they cut they eventually.
Wilt and the color actually Fades and that’s not the case with amaran flowers which is why amaranth actually is used a lot in ancient cultures as a symbol for immortality and because of that that leads that it yes it is an ancient grain archaeologists have dated this back um th you know Thousand Years BC we actually see it in ancient Asian.
Cultures and again it was used as a symbol of immortality it was also known as king seed or sent by God because of its flavor and its nourishment that provided and we’ll get into the amazing health benefits of this later the Aztecs believe that it could turn a weak man into a powerful Warrior and they actually sometimes called it the food of.
Immortality it is mentioned in asap’s fables which was written in sixth century BC it is also mentioned in Milton’s Paradise loss which is written in the 1600s and I will have to post this maybe here of the poem especially in asop fables because I thought it was extremely beautiful so feel free to pause this video to read it here because.
I really really liked it in ancient Central America it was actually a crucial crop for the Aztecs which may surprise you because many of us do not associate amaranth with Mexican food like we do with the corn and the beans which we know was an ancient food of the Aztec but it was a very important crop to the Aztecs it was mainly used in cere.
In religious ceremonies they they would consume it but it was mainly used for religious purposes religious ceremonies and not necessarily for daily regular consumption like they did with the Maze and the beans and all the other things that they ate now while it was a very important crop for the Aztec it was also very important crop in Asia which leads.
To the historical controversy here or not really controversy but a bit of a historical dilemma that archaeologists and scientists have kind of come across thanks to this little teeny tiny little grain now I don’t know about you but I was basically raised believing that there was not really trans Oceanic um trade and things like that going on.
Before Columbus we all have hear the story of Columbus you know being in Europe and then he came over here discovered the new world surprise you know we have a new continent all of that stuff and therein the um Europeans met with the central Americans the North American South Americans um that’s what I was taught a lot and I wasn’t really.
Taught anything about the other side like was there um transpacific ocean trading and things like that most of the time I mean I just know I was generally under the impression that the continents did not trade with each other really until after Columbus but one thing that scientists and archaeologists have found is that they do believe that the origins.
Of amaranth were based in Mexico Central America that type of area but they’ve actually compar that to the amaran that is found in Asia the fact that it dates back so long ago again BC I mean this is will before Columbus sailed in 1492 and they are finding amaran in Asia they once believed that maybe these were different species but they’ve actually.
Compared them and they are very very very very very similarly related they are very close to each other and there’s not as much variety of amaranth in Asia as there is in Mexico Central America and South America which has led them to actually be open to the fact that there actually was possibly transoceanic trading from Asia to.
Central and South America Way long ago and that’s how Asians got amaran because because of the reason that there is no huge variety there’s more variety in sentral in South America that’s why they the why they believe that that is where emirs or originated from but this is kind of causing a stir in history because this possibly is proof that you.
Know people were actually going across the Pacific Ocean from Asia all the way over here to Central and South America way before our modern um archaeologists and historians believe and I find that very fascinating and I do believe my husband and I both were talking about this and he absolutely believes this is totally possible and was true even back.
When King Solomon was King because think of the wealth that Solomon had I mean the world was basically at his feet and God also said that there would be no Kingdom or King as wealthy or as wise as him and you have to think of all the resources available to him we also know that the Vikings traes from Europe over to North America to do raids long before.
Columbus time so there was stuff going on you know and I find it very fascinating that something as a grain a teeny little seed can actually be a crucial link to history to show us more of the history that we have possibly lost so that might be very boring to you if you absolutely hate history but I love history and so this was completely.
Fascinating to me now again I was surprised that amaranth was so popular in Central and South America because it’s typically not seen as that popular today and that’s mainly because when the Spanish con daughters came over to South America and Central America they actually banned um amaran but it did survive and but it did not become very.
Popular when they took it over to Europe and so you know between Banning it in South America and then didn’t really take off in Europe it kind of died out but it actually did become very popular in Africa and it’s also common in Caribbean food food as well so it’s still there but the popularity kind of died off a little bit but it is coming.
Back which leads us to the actual number two the health benefits the nutritional value of amaran and this is where it truly shines as a super grain like many of the other pseudo cereals like quinoa um the they’re considered very very high a protein power punch they are super grains when it comes to protein so if you’re new here just remember that wheat.
Is King of the grains but it actually is slightly deficient in four of the essential nutrients that we need and lysine some protein is actually part of that it is not a complete protein you got to you got to pair it with other things like beans to actually make it a complete protein amaranth and other pseudo cereals are actually complete.
Proteins they contain all of the nine essential amino acids that are needed so if you are vegetarian or vegan you do not have meat this is definitely a grain that you want because of the protein you will not be lacking in your protein it is a wonderful grain for that and to give you a bit more perspective of the amount of protein it’s around 14%.
Protein which is double that of rice and corn in fact researchers in Guatemala actually found it to be one of the most nutritious plant-based proteins that we have or at least know of today so again if you’re not really a meat eater this is definitely a grain that you need to have in your Arsenal to be able to give you this very essential.
Protein that is needed now as you probably guessed being a pseudo cereal it is a naturally gluten-free grain so those who may need to stay away from gluten or for whatever reason you’re choosing that to have it this is an excellent grain to have while still having the nutritional power punch and a great thing about amaranth is.
Researchers of Mexico back in 2008 and this was published in a journal they were the first to report that amaranth actually has lunasin lunasin lunine however you pronounce it this is how it’s spelled um it is a peptide that is actually found in amaranth um before then people generally knew of it as being very high in soybeans and it is.
Widely thought to have pre um cancer preventative qualities anti inflammatory qualities especially those anti-inflammatory qualities that can help prevent diabetes heart disease and more and I’m pretty sure all of us are totally on board with anything that could possibly prevent cancer I know I am now as a whole grain this is why it.
Is classified as a whole grain is it does have a lot of the nutrients that typical whole grains do have it has greater or less than 10% of the recommended daily value of protein fiber iron Sal cium and B vitamins specifically the B6 strand of B vitamins and is actually greater than or equal to 20% of the recommended daily intake of.
Magnesium and phosphorus and contains half of the daily recommended value of Manganese which actually is needed to help you break down protein and other macronutrients so to give you a bit of a serving size idea here of what amaranth contains about a/4 cup of uncooked amaranth which is generally considered a serving contains about 180 calories.
Three grams of fiber and seven grams of protein it’s a pretty cool huh pretty cool little super grain that we have here so to recap remember if you are definitely not a meat eater and you’re needing a good source of protein this is an excellent grain to use all right now what is amaranth used for today this is number three traditionally is actually a.
Pretty popular breakfast porridge in places like Mexico Nepal India and Peru the entire plant is actually used the leaves are actually used more as a vegetable and can be seen in Caribbean African and Asian Cuisine of course the seeds can be used eaten whole or melt in the flour um for consumption for you to eat and then the flowers are generally.
Used as decoration now thanks to the rise of a whole gluten-free aspect in the western cultures like the United States it is becoming far more popular of a grain due to its gluten fre qualities now fascinating is according to the NIH which is the National Institute of Health here in the United States it is actually widely used in the.
Pharmaceutical in pharmaceutical industry to produce medicinal products to help combat um diseases such as ulcers such as stomach ulcer tuberculosis as well as antiseptic antifungal and anti-inflammatory preparations found that pretty fascinating it’s also many times people just grow it as an ornamental plant.
Because it is very pretty and as with many other grains it can be used to make alcohol it can be fermented to make a type of alcohol the only place I saw this is I did see it on one blog post where they talked about an amaranth belg an amaranth Belgian table ale um that they did as a home brew so I don’t think this is something you can buy it’s.
Generally seen in like the home brewing type industry um and they said it was actually pretty delicious now last but not least how to use amaranth in your kitchen so you’ve got some now how to use it and there are so many ways to do this first of all it can just be milled up and eaten as a porridge so if you get tired of oats or other things.
Like that you can just have it as a good porridge and use whatever you like with porridge bananas apples nuts honey whatever the taste of it is kind is generally um described as being an earthy grassy light nutty a bit peppery so keep that in mind and it does pair well with squash corn cinnamon vanilla and chocolate now a little note before.
We continue on about Milling these teeny little grains like amaran and also te that I forgot to mention in last video um Su Becker actually talks about this in her homeg ground flower cookbook and she mentions that teeny little grains like this you may not want to just dump in all at once to your Mill because it may clog so you may need to just turn on.
That Mill and gradually add in the grains to keep it from being clogged because these are super tiny the exception is if you actually have some sort of attachment that is used for small grains now I also say with these tiny little grains they would probably be very easy to use in a high powered blender or even in a coffee grinder.
Because again they’re just that tiny all right so there you go about how to mill it so again I mentioned that you can use this as a porridge like all the grains you can just boil it and then dress it up however you want so do know with how to boil amaran actually cook it as a whole grain so this is without a mill um you just need to take one cup of dried.
Whole amaranth and place it into two cups of whatever liquid that you like water um a stock whatever it is bring that to a bowl and then simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until it is cooked just know that one cup of dried amaranth will come out to about 2 and 1/2 cups of cooked amaranth all right it can also be used in any sort of palenta style recipe.
If you like that and a cool thing like sorghum that I discovered it is it can be popped like popcorn and in fact this actually is a popular snack in Mexico to this day where they pop amaran and then they mix it with some honey and eat it like that and that actually goes all the way back to the azex you can also pop it and use it in whatever type of granola.
Recipe that you like as well another great thing and sucker talks about this again in her cookbook is you can actually combine amaran with sorum for many different types of gluten-free recipes and if you are looking for gluten-free recipes whole grain I actually do recommend sucker’s homegrown flour cookbook and while it’s not a.
Strictly a gluten-free cookbook in the notes for many many recipes she actually talks about tips for how to go gluten-free and that’s using things like sorum and amaranth so I definitely recommend checking that out of course you can Mill it and use it in just quick breads you can use it in bread in muffins in pancakes what just whatever.
Type of quick bread recipe you have MP some amaran and see how you like it it’s also frequently used to throw into soups because it does help thicken up some soups and last but not least I’ve seen recipes where people Mill it up and bake cakes with them use it in Granola I mean there are just so many ways to use this recipe and I’m actually looking forward.
To trying it out myself but there you have it y’all you have met emarth a fascinating grain I love the fact that it’s disrupting history as we know it as well and again let me know in the comments below um if you plan on trying this out if you have have tried amaranth out and just give us some helpful tips follow my graines be sure to be looking.
Out for extra recipes in the member portal and again to find out more about the grains Explorer challenge grain.com grains Explorer the link will be here in the description box below as always I hope youall have a wonderful day and I’ll see you next week bye
