Grains
Quinoa
Rinse it or the saponin coating tastes soapy. Toast it dry once it has drained.
Ingredient reference image: AI-generated. Recipe photography is my own.
In the kitchen
Under heat
It absorbs water and the germ spirals out from each grain when fully cooked — that visible ring is how you know it’s done.
Against air
The saponin coating protects the grain in storage; once rinsed and cooked, treat it like any cooked grain and refrigerate promptly.
In storage
Dry and unrinsed, it keeps like rice — airtight, cool, more or less indefinitely.
At the shop
White, red, and black quinoa all cook the same way; red and black hold a slightly firmer bite.
Which variety, for what
- White quinoa
- The mildest and fluffiest of the three once cooked.
- Red / black quinoa
- Firmer bite and a slightly nuttier flavor — holds its shape a little better in a salad.