Cereal grains making a comeback in the kitchen

By Anja Gladisch Feb 1, 2010, 3:08 GMT

Berlin - You need not go to a health food store nowadays to find quinoa, amaranth, millet, buckwheat, spelt and unripe spelt grain. Ancient crop plants, they are increasingly finding their way into modern supermarkets. Many consumers buy them not only for their nutritional value but also to experience new tastes.

Millet: 'Millet is a versatile cereal grain,' noted Harald Hoppe, a member of BIOSpitzenkoeche ('Top Organic Chefs'), Germany's only association of organic chefs. He said its high level of silicic acid earned it the nickname 'the beauty grain.' Millet strengthens hair, skin and fingernails, bolsters the nervous system and improves mental performance.

Like rice, millet can be easily prepared as a pudding or side dish, pointed out Peter Roehrig, deputy director of Germany's Organic Food Industry Federation. It is suitable for people with coeliac disease, or gluten intolerance, because it is free of gluten, a composite of proteins in wheat, rye, and barley. Millet has long been grown in China, North Africa and North America, and more recently in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Spelt: An ancient strain of wheat that was used to bake bread as far back as the Middle Ages, spelt has a hearty, nutty flavour. Baked goods of spelt are rich in protein, and people with a wheat allergy can often tolerate spelt better. Spelt, whose grains do not thresh free of the chaff, is also rich in fibre, minerals and vitamins, said Henrik Passmann, deputy director of the Bavarian Baking Academy. It is cultivated primarily in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland.

Unripe spelt grain: 'When a bad crop was feared, spelt was harvested before full ripeness, with the grains still soft and milky inside,' Hoppe explained. The unripe grains are kiln-dried and take on a greenish colour. As Roehrig noted, the flour lends itself well to organic grain fritters.

Amaranth: 'Amaranth isn't a true cereal grain. It's a pseudo-cereal,' Passmann said. It belongs to the flowering-plant family Amaranthaceae, some species of which are popular ornamental plants for gardens and balconies. Amaranth has small, round seeds. It is grown mainly in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, Hoppe said.

'What makes amaranth special is its high content of the amino acid lysine,' Hoppe added. Lysine stimulates nutrient and energy metabolism in the human body, which boosts working capacity and athletic endurance.

Amaranth should not be stored too long as it is very high in fat and spoils quickly. It is traditionally used for sweet pudding, flatbread and soup. 'It's also often used for muesli and waffles,' Roehrig said.

Quinoa: Like amaranth, quinoa is not a true cereal grain and belongs to the flowering-plant family Amaranthaceae. Its small, round seeds are rich in iron, which helps the body to make red blood corpuscles. The seeds must be harvested by hand since they do not all ripen at the same time. Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador are the countries where quinoa is cultivated.

'Before use in the kitchen, the seeds should be briefly rinsed again,' Hoppe advised, noting that the plant protected itself from pests with saponins. These bitter-tasting chemical compounds can be washed off with water. The seeds are traditionally used to make flatbread, pudding and dumplings. Quinoa germ can be processed into beverages, Passmann said. And like rice, quinoa is cookable and palatable.

Buckwheat: Buckwheat belongs to a family of flowering plants sometimes called knotweed. Its three-cornered seeds, similar to beechnuts, are rich in such nutrients as potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosphorus, Passmann said.