How to Use Amaranth: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Amaranth is an ancient cereal and is a great source of nutrition. It has a high percentage of fiber (15%), a high protein content (14%) and can be used in many ways. It is also rich in lysine, an amino acid found in few foods, and contains more calcium than any other cereal. The best reason for consuming amaranth lies precisely in its nutritional characteristics, but it has become a staple food in the diets of diabetics and celiacs because it has a low glycemic index and is gluten-free. Children benefit a lot from consuming amaranth due to its high nutritional value. Although it is a cereal, it can be considered a vegetable. Amaranth is gaining popularity, but it is not known by most and people do not know how to best cook and eat it. Knowing how to prepare it will help you get it into your diet.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Like Cereal

The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming cereals as an integral part of a healthy meal. They can be served separately or included in the dish. Amaranth can be a substitute for rice and pasta without being less satisfying.

Step 1. Serve the amaranth instead of the rice

• Use 2.5-3 parts of water for each part of amaranth.
• Bring it to a simmer in a covered pot for about 20 minutes.
• The cereal should absorb all the water and be puffy and soft at the end.
• You can also toast it with butter and add it to pilau rice along with other grains.

Step 2. Replace the couscous, risotto, barley or pasta with amaranth

It's great because its texture and size aren't that different from these foods. You just have to use a little less cooking water to maintain the structure of the cereal.

• Make whole grain rolls with amaranth. You can use it for bread or as flour.

  • If you use it whole, it will add texture and a nutty flavor to the bread.
  • If you use it in the form of flour you can replace it with the normal 00 with a variable percentage between 5% and 30%. The only other change you need to make to the recipe will be a greater amount of water.
  • It is also excellent as a gluten-free flour. You can use it in place of regular flour, adding more water, xanthan gum and a starch to allow the bread to cook properly.

  

  Step 3. Replace the oats with amaranth

  • It can be simmered in juices to get a sweet flavor.
  • Add nuts, spices and fruit for a sweet and healthy breakfast.

  

  Step 4. Use it in soups or chili

  Amaranth flour helps thicken soups and adds flavor and texture.

  Part 2 of 4: As a Dessert

  Amaranth has a delicate flavor that makes it suitable for many applications, including the preparation of desserts. Many people find this ingredient to taste like roasted walnut.

  

  Step 1. Make a pudding

  Follow the same recipe as a rice pudding, but use amaranth instead.

  

  Step 2. Bake some cookies

  • Amaranth seeds make each cookie crunchy.
  • Amaranth flour allows you to make gluten-free cookies. Use it instead of normal 00 flour, the flavor will be slightly different and the biscuit drier. To counteract these effects, add some apple juice.

  Part 3 of 4: Baked Preparations

  Amaranth is excellent in all preparations that require baking, especially when gluten must be avoided. In addition, baked products prepared with amaranth have a higher nutritional value, especially as regards fiber and proteins. In addition, thanks to its low glycemic index, it helps people with blood sugar problems to control their blood sugar levels.

  

  Step 1. Replace a portion of 00 flour (or even all of it) with an equal amount of amaranth flour

  If you don't use more than 30% you can follow the rest of the recipe normally, except for the amount of water. In fact, you will have to use more because the amaranth flour absorbs more of it.

  

  Step 2. Make gluten-free baked goods

  In this case, the "normal" recipe must be further modified so that the structure of the bread is formed even with the absence of gluten. In this case, xanthan gum and starch are added. When making cakes or loaves that don't require a lot of air in them, you can substitute 100% of the flour.

  

  Step 3. Use the whole amaranth to give more flavor and texture

  You can toast the seeds before adding them to the preparation, or leave them raw. Toasting is recommended when making cookies because they will be crunchy and tasty.

  Part 4 of 4: As a Healthy Snack

  Healthy snacks are part of a balanced diet. Their purpose is to provide enough protein and carbohydrates to keep you full until your next meal. Amaranth provides both of these nutrients, and can be incorporated into many snacks.

  

  Step 1. Pop the amaranth seeds

  Soft "popcorn" are formed which can be eaten plain or mixed with other ingredients.

  • To make them "pop" put 1-2 tablespoons in a very hot pan.
  • Stir continuously until all of them have burst.
  • When most of the seeds have burst, remove them from the heat to avoid burning them.
  • You can sprinkle them with honey or cinnamon if you want a sweet taste.

  

  Step 2. Add amaranth seeds to your smoothie

  This increases its nutritional value, thickens it and gives it a nutty flavor.

  

  Step 3. Finished

  Advice

  • Buy and taste some products prepared with amaranth before committing to cooking it or preparing it regularly. This way you will understand if and how to use this ingredient.
  • Take a fine-textured sieve to rinse the amaranth and dry it well before preparing it.
  • The Ministry of Health recommends that at least 51% of cereals be wholemeal, and amaranth is one of these.