If you love minerals and baby nutrition but feel concerned about giving your baby grains and grain-like starchy foods, fermented quinoa might be a happy medium.
Like most grains, quinoa was extensively processed by traditional + pre-agricultural folks before it was safe to eat. This is because it contains the following anti-nutrients, some of which can bind to minerals and get in the way of protein absorption:
- phytates
- tannins
- saponins
But did you know quinoa is “paleo”?
Quinoa, called the “mother of all grains,” has been nourishing folks for thousands of years. As it runs out, quinoa is a seed (or pseudo-cereal) that predates agriculture.
In other words, technically – it’s PALEO…even though it’s a grain-like plant food.
Quinoa remains have been found at archaeological levels from several thousands of years BP to the Inka period in different locations of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Hunter-gatherers as well as agricultural societies used this grain and some of its wild relatives. Quinoa remains have been found in multiple contexts, including hearths, burials, storage structures, human digestive tracts and coprolites (AKA fossilized feces).
Quinoa’s “high-quality” protein makes it roughly 80% digestible. And this little seed also boasts a balanced set of all essential amino acids. When properly prepared and fermented, it’s also a good source of minerals like calcium and iron.
Another thing that makes quinoa different is that it contains a fairly large amount of saponins, a compound that produces soapy foam when shaken with water.
Saponins taste bitter and are toxic. They must be removed before eating. These days, quinoa is processed in a way to remove saponins coating the surface of the seed – but recent findings show that saponins are within the seed too. One hallmark of saponins are foamy bubbles, which you will as you ferment quinoa.
For this reason, it’s important to rinse quinoa before cooking it – rinse until you no longer see foam in the wash water (which shouldn’t take long).
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa
- 1 tablespoon of a starter, such as InnerEco coconut water kefir or Body Ecology’s starter
- large 2-quart jar
- Filtered water for soaking and fermenting
- 1.5 cups bone broth or water
Instructions
- Pour quinoa into a large jar. Fill with water, few inches of headroom.
- Add starter, cover, and ferment for roughly 3 – 5 days. The warmer your home, the faster the quinoa will ferment. Bubbles and a crisp, tart smell are a good sign that friendly microbes are thriving.
- When ready to cook, drain quinoa. You can reserve a cup of your fermentation brine for your next batch of soured quinoa. rinse once or twice with filtered water. Drain quinoa before adding fresh cooking water. You can reserve a cup of your fermentation brine for your next batch of soured quinoa.
- Rinse quinoa with filtered water and drain.
- To cook, place rinsed quinoa in a saucepan and cover with bone broth or water. Cook on medium heat at a simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Cover. Keep the lid in place and be sure let it sit off heat and covered for another 15 minutes.
- Remove cover. Fluff with fork and enjoy the yummy tangy flavor of soured quinoa.
Hi there, does cooking the quinoa after the fermentation process not kill all the bacteria when it is boiled? I read another recipe that said to cook the quinoa before fermenting. Thank you, Olivia
Hey Olivia,
Great question! The purpose of fermentation is to get rid of the anti-nutrients in quinoa (which bind to minerals) and to “pre-digest” it, making it one of the best grains (really, it’s a seed) that a baby can eat. In order to do this, you would want to fermented, rinse, and THEN cook.
Like most fermented grains and breads, the goal isn’t probiotics – it’s digestibility 😉
Fermented quinoa sort of tastes like sourdough bread. It’s delicious!!
xxo Megan
What is the starter and where do you get it?
Hey Julia,
I like to use Inner Eco (I buy it at Whole Foods) or Body Ecology’s starter: https://amzn.to/2RQkQSu
xxo!!
Hi. I usually buy sprouted quinoa at Whole Foods, is this essentially the same thing, or do you recommend fermenting sprouted quinoa as well? Should I be buying regular or sprouted quinoa? Great article!
Hey Gina,
Sprouted quinoa is great. Fermented is a step beyond soaking and sprouting. As far as nutrition goes and getting rid of mineral-binding antinutrients, it’s best if you can ferment quinoa 😉
Do you have a link on how to dehydrate after ferment. Also why don’t recipes have you ferment and then make a sourdough? I don’t get that because don’t you need to rinse well after ferment/sourdough to get all the crap off/out?
Will these puff still when heated after fermentation?
Hey Kellie,
This cooks up as quinoa normally does. The only difference is that it’s fermented, so mineral-binding phytates are less of a problem and it’s easier to digest.
Do you rinse the Quinoa at all during the 3-5 days and add the acidic medium again or do you just let it sit the whole 3-5 days undisturebed?
Nope! Let it do its thing 😉
Once quinoa has fermented after 3-5 days and it is rinsed, how long will it last refrigerated until small portions are removed for cooking? I’m assuming the entire pound does not have to be cooked at one time.
Hey Donna,
I usually cook a pound (or more) for myself and family. I have never stored *uncooked* fermented quinoa in the fridge, so I can’t say how it will turn out.
When I cook quinoa, I often store leftovers in the fridge and it can be really great when I’m looking for something quick to eat: I heat some up in my cast iron with a few spices + some sort of healthy fat. I usually add in veggies and sometimes leftover protein or even canned salmon. Super yummy and it comes together in minutes.
If a pound is too much, maybe 1/2 the recipe 😉 Hope this helps,
xxo!
Megan
Cost wise, what are some cheaper ways to ferment the quinoa. Could I use a probiotic or acv? Or even sauerkraut juice? Thanks!
Hey Teresa,
Lately, I have been using my baby probiotic because it’s always on hand – just a pinch. You want to make sure your starter has lactobacillus.
Raw ACV won’t ferment the quinoa (the culture at the bottom is yeast based) and sauerkraut juice may be too weak. The whole point of using a starter – besides fermenting the quinoa – is to protect it from mold and wild strains that may not be so awesome for the body.
Thanks for the great question, xxo!!
Megan
Just pour a little whey in there from your yogurt. That is what I do.
This may be a wacky question, but I’m new to fermenting so bear with me… Could I use yogurt as my starter? I don’t have anything else you suggested on hand and really want to get a batch started right away. TIA
Me again, ha. Sorry. I just remembered I do have a freeze-dried kefir starter in the fridge. Could that work?
Hey Jessica,
I haven’t tried yogurt, so I’m not sure that it would work well.
Kefir starter *will* work. For best results, add it to a little bit of warm water before beginning your ferment. And now that we’re in the colder months, be sure to keep your fermenting quinoa somewhere warm 😉
I am on day 5 and pulled it onto the counter from its cooler darker location. the second day the quinoa separated into two sections with the water and whey in between the separated layers. I went ahead and mixed it back together the 3rd day so the liquid was on the surface covering it. the suface has a cake of white and today it has blacking mold on top of the cake. it that something i can simply scrape off or dump the whole caked surface or is this an unsafe outcome and should dump the whole batch?
Hey! I have never had anything grow on mine. If it were me, I would toss it.
Hope this helps, xxo!!
Hello! My husband and I have been making our own kombucha for several months, could I use that as starter?
Hey Beth,
I know that you can ferment herbs with kombucha and enhance the medicinal quality of herbs. However, I’ve never fermented quinoa with kombucha, so I’m not sure that it would work.
If you try it, let me know how it goes, xxo!!
clarifying question on the kefir as starter. I have dairy kefir grains. I also have the kefir made from those grains. Are you suggesting using the actual kefir grains to ferment the quinoa or the kefir byproduct?
Hey Sarah,
I have only ever used coconut water kefir (the brand is Inner Eco or you can make your own) or the Body Ecology starter packets (instructions on the back of the box). Body Ecology uses a powdered starter, which only lasts for a few rounds of fermentation. This is different from the grains, which self-generate as long as you care for them.
I’m not sure that dairy kefir would work in the same way as coconut water kefir.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to use the grains with quinoa – I think they might be impossible to separate later on. Hope this helps, xxo!!
Hi, I was wondering if you refer to Body Ecology’s kefir starter or their Veggie Culture Starter? Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi May,
I use the veggie culture starter. It’s a little more multi-purpose since you can use for dairy too.
Hi Megan! Excited to try this and it got me thinking:
I have been making granola with quinoa for my husband and I – the recipe doesn’t call for it to be cooked, just baked with the rest of the ingredients. I found that after I ate this granola that I had really bad gas – at first I wondered if it was too much gf oats, but now I’m wondering if it was the quinoa. Is that a possibility?
Love your resources! You are my go to for all things baby food related! 🙂
Hey Amanda,
That’s a good question! Considering how much processing traditional cultures did with quinoa before eating it – which would remove some of the compounds that make it harder to digest – it’s possible. A brand called Tru Roots has sprouted quinoa – that might be better for your granola.
So happy to hear that you find the info here helpful, xxo!!
From my experience with quinoa, the gas part is because it wasn’t prepared adequately. It is really important to soak and wash very well and fermenting can then aid in its digestibility. I had problems with it before I learned to process is properly.
Perhaps if someone wanted to try using kefir grains, keeping them separate in a bag or piece of cheesecloth might work?
Hey Kristy,
That might work! If you try it, let me know how it goes.
xxo!!
On buy puffed quinoa from a bulk food store, it has a coffee taste. Does it need fermenting?
When the quinoa is fermenting, does the lid need to be tight? I also heard something about burping the jar.
Hey Stephen,
I keep it tight and yes, you can burp the jar or just cover with fabric xxo!!
hi! when reserving a cup of the brine after rinsing, do I also need to add more starter next time? or will a cup of the brine from the previous batch be enough? thanks!