Corner of Bourbon & Division

tx_cronopio wanted to know my thoughts on quinoa, whether it was in fact a tasty grain or an overrated fad.

2013 was the International Year of Quinoa, so this post is almost on-topic. If only it were still six months ago. ;)

My thoughts on this subject are not overly complex. I quite like quinoa. It's super tasty, though I find it a little expensive for what it is and don't seek it out as a rule. I also don't really know how to cook with it, so my experiences with it are limited to when other people have cooked it for me in various ways, usually in the guise of quinoa burgers. Here's a pro tip: eating too many quinoa burgers will do unfortunate things to your insides.

That being said, it has been brought to my attention that quinoa is not the most socially responsible grain to have around. It can only be produced in smaller quantities, since it generally has to be harvested by hand due to how delicate the grains are. Quinoa was considered a poor man's food until it got popular with yuppies, and so now it's believed that the increasing popularity of the grain in non-indigenous countries is affecting local food supply, because few other crops are compatible with the soil and climate in areas where quinoa is grown.

This is a subject of some controversy, but given that this has some precedent with other crops (asparagus springs to mind, but I'm sure there are others), I wouldn't be surprised if our latest yuppie fad was, indeed, harmful to the environment and/or local economies.

Um, that's about it. Sorry, I have no lengthy ideas on the subject. Quinoa is just not a big part of my daily experience.