Quinoa “The Supergrain” Processing and Food Applications.

Quinoa, a pseudo cereal native to Andean regions of South America, is a drought
resistant crop with high nutritive value. It is a future crop sown thousand years ago, that
is gluten-free thus offering a good alternative for celiac patients and people who have
wheat allergy. Owing to its pack of high quality protein (7.5-22%) and balanced amino
acid spectrum (with high contents of lysine and methionine), it stands to reason that
quinoa is indeed a ‘SUPER GRAIN’. Because of such high nutritive potential and genetic
diversity, quinoa is classified by FAO as one of humanity’s promising crops that can
contribute to food security in the 21st century while the United Nations had declared
2013 the International Year of Quinoa, which aimed at focusing global attention on its
role towards food security, nutrition and poverty eradication policies.