Why I Love Amaranth
The first time I recall encountering amaranth was when I worked for Rock Spring Farm, an organic veggie farm in Northeastern Iowa back in the early 2000s. Every week we’d make bouquets to sell at the farmers market and the bright fuschia dangling dreadlocks of amaranth I found to be the most stunning addition to the bouquets. I also loved the imagery and drama the varietal name, “Love Lies Bleeding,” conjured up for me. The next year, when I had my first very own garden space, Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth got a prominent location.
A few years ago I learned that this plant relative was Native to Central America and was traditionally a valued food crop pre-Spanish colonization. The leaves of amaranth can be harvested when they’re young and tender and eaten raw or cooked. The seeds can also be harvested and have about twice the protein of wheat or white rice. Amaranth is high in iron, fiber, calcium, and magnesium For it’s nutritional value, as well as being a gluten-free alternative to wheat, in recent years it has achieved “super-food status,” and can now be purchased in most natural food stores.
So how do you cook amaranth you ask? You can throw it in some boiling water and eat it in place of white rice or like a porridge for breakfast. But my favorite way to use amaranth grain is to pop it! To pop amaranth you just heat up a pot to medium high on the stove and throw a small amount of the amaranth (no more than 1/4 cup) into the pot. The grains will jump around like jumping beans so use a pot with high sides like a soup pot. Remove grains from pot so they don’t burn, and repeat! Unlike popcorn, popping amaranth should be done in a dry pan without oil. Popped amaranth has a nutty/toasty flavor and adds a nice texture to yogurt parfaits or your favorite granola bar recipe!
The aesthetic value of this plant cannot be overlooked! Our Hopi relatives use it as a dye plant, (hence, Hopi Red Dye Amaranth). And I have been known to use it to add a little flavor to my own personal aesthetic!
This year Loon Bay Botanicals will be growing and selling 2 varieties of this amazing plant relative everyone should get to know: Love Lies Bleeding and Hopi Red Dye. Look for me at Superior Farmers Markets this spring!
