Friday, March 14, 2014

Amazing Amaranth And How To Use It


Each flower head of the Hopi Indian Red Dye Amaranth can provide up to sixty thousand seeds. This is a must have heirloom grain crop for every sustainable gardener to grow. 

Even the smallest backyard garden would surely want to fit this beauty into their landscape. I have even successfully grown it in large pots. With a little pruning it can be made into a gorgeous annual ornamental plant.The Amaranth is very drought tolerant and can be grown in most soil types.

The leaves of Amaranth, also called Indian Spinach are delightful eaten when small sprouts and resemble the flavor of sweet, but slightly spicy spinach. We add them to fresh salads and my favorite is to add them to the filling of homemade egg rolls. When the plant matures the leaves become tough, even when cooked.

The grand prize is the flower head full of seeds. Amaranth seeds can be ground into flour that has a spectacular light nutty flavor. They are a powerhouse of iron, fiber and antioxidants. Amaranth is far higher than most all other grains and seeds in protein, amino acids and lysine. Amaranth also contains a form of vitamin E that has a cholesterol lowering effect.


To make homemade Amaranth flour you will need to collect as many flower heads as possible. I lay them on a sheet that I spread on our drying racks. They need to be away from the soil and dry quickly in the sun and the sheet will catch any shattered seeds in the process. 

After they have dried I gently shake the flower heads to catch the rest of the seeds. I then run them through a simple hand crank flour sifter to winnow the chaff from the seed. We have just harvested our first 2 1/2 pounds of Amaranth and I’m anxious to mill it into fresh gluten free flour.


The seeds are tiny and the new grain mill will only grind them so far. Next on my list of purchases will be a hand crank flour mill. But for now I simply whipped up the seeds in a little magic bullet food processor. It made the seeds fine and soft enough to mix in with some other whole grain flours.

 I’m now well on my way to making some homemade pasta and breads. My first endeavor has been making spinach and amaranth fettuccine pasta. Join me in my kitchen to see how easy it can be.The sweet and nutty flavors of the spinach and amaranth are delicious together.

There comes an inner peace with sustainability. With a little time invested in growing and harvesting a few grain crops you can be well on your way to eating healthier natural foods.

Happy Gardening!
Pammy

11 comments:

  1. I love the leaves of the amaranth. We began growing the Hopi Red dye amaranth for dying the wool of our sheep. I have not eaten the seeds nor ground them, but plan on doing so perhaps this season. I love how easy the amaranth is to grow!
    Jennifer

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    1. I would love to see your dyed wool! I just had someone new asking me about doing just that! I love growing the amaranth too! I just take it out where I don't want it. It's wonderful! Thanks for stopping by Jennifer! xo

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  2. Where would you purchase these seeds

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    1. http://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/amaranth/

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    2. Yes, this is where we purchased our first seed stock. Great company!! :)

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  3. I definitely want to try growing Amaranth in my back yard some day. I've been interested in this wonderful native plant since first hearing about it on a survival podcast show a few years ago.

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  4. How many plants did you harvest your 2 1/2 pounds of seed from? I'm growing 4 plants this year but have no idea what yield will come about from each plant. Thank!

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    1. I'll try to weigh it this year Maddie. It was a whole lot!!

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  5. I have amaranth everywhere this year! I let it dry over the winter outside and it self seeds where ever you walk with it.

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