[pct-l] Quinoa?

[ralvek088-hiking at yahoo.com]

Jake,

Soaking quinoa will not help reduce cooking time by much; it does need to be cooked long enough - definitely a lot longer than
couscous. Experiment with how long and how much water at home before hitting the trail so you can plan your
fuel needs. You don't want to eat undercooked seeds/grains for an extended period; might lead to digestive distress. Not
fun on the trail! Couscous is cracked, processed wheat or millet that has been almost completely precooked; just adding very hot water
is sufficient to "cook" it. Quinoa is the intact whole seed so it takes longer to cook to make it edible and readily digestible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa


More important quinoa needs to be thoroughly rinsed to rid it of (naturally occurring) saponins; most commercially
available quinoa has the saponins removed but it's still a good idea to rinse it well before cooking. The saponins impart the
bitter taste to the cooked quinoa; the better job you do rinsing the less bitter the taste. Ingesting saponins can cause other problems.

Have a great hike!





----- Original Message -----
From: Terry <tsparks56 at aol.com>
To: "Pct-L at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Cc: 
Sent: Friday, April 4, 2014 3:27 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Quinoa?

Hi Jake 
Try soaking it for an hour or so prior to 'cooking'  in half of the water needed, to start the hydration process.  You also save a bit of fuel cooking on the trail this way too. 

Terry

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 4, 2014, at 3:16 PM, Jake Handy <jakers329 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> I've chosen quinoa as one of my main dinner choices for the trail.  I've cooked  on a few backpacking trips but it always seems to be a bit under done.  My system is to bring a cup of it to boil (with dehydrated veggies/spices), boil for about a minute then put my pot in cozy for about 10-15 mins.  Two questions;  Any better system anyone else has discovered?  And, is it ok to eat under done quinoa?
> Thanks!
> Jake
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