Amaranth Seed

Amaranth Seed
B.R. writes:

I put in an order to
Shumways (a fine seed company), and I am purchasing a half pound of a
different variety of amaranth seed that I have never tried before, to
grow this summer and to store for Y2k. This is an amazing plant. It was
grown by the ancient Aztecs as a staple in their diets. Amaranth is
very drought tolerant, and will grow in the worst part of my garden
with little soil amendments. It tastes good and is nutritious, as it
contains more protein than most grains. One quarter cup contains over a
third of the recommended daily amounts of iron and magnesium, lots of
folate and zinc, and some calcium and b-complex vitamins. The leaves
are comparable to spinach, collards and kale in nutrition. One half cup
supplies half the recommended daily amount of vitamin C and lots of A
and calcium.

Amaranth seed can be ground into flour, but
due to the low gluten content you will need to mix with whole wheat
flour to make bread. The seeds make good sprouts, toasted and milled,
it makes a wonderful cooked cereal. And it can be popped like popcorn!
But the best is to just cook it like rice. No rinsing or hulling, just
boil it in equal amount of water for 10 minutes, or until the water is
absorbed.

If you can grow corn, you can grow amaranth. I
water the plants until they are established and then again only if the
weather is dry for a long period. They invariably reach 6-7 feet high.
It is important to dry amaranth seed very well for storage. Store it in
a cool dry place in air tight containers.