rinsing quinoa

[Anonymous]

This is a really stupid question, so please be kind. I know you're supposed to rinse quinoa before cooking or buy it pre-rinsed. I haven't seen the pre-rinsed kind, so I try to rinse it in a fine metal strainer but MANY quinoa grains just stick to it. It drives me nuts. Is there a better way?

[Anonymous]

Nah, this is how I do it. I just scrape them out.

[Anonymous]

I never rinse it and it's always fine.

[Anonymous]

I can't remember the name of the pre-rinsed brand, but it's in a turquoise color box and I think some sort of Native American looking stuff on front. I get it from commissary, but I think I've seen it in Whole Foods too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never rinse it and it's always fine.

me too

[Anonymous]

Use a fine plastic mesh strainer instead of metal. I buy quinoa at Costco, which is much cheaper than elsewhere, and it isn't pre-rinsed.

[Anonymous]

I bought a sieve at Sur La Table for rinsing quinoa. A big investment (like $30) but it stopped me from losing 25% of the quinoa I was rinsing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Use a fine plastic mesh strainer instead of metal. I buy quinoa at Costco, which is much cheaper than elsewhere, and it isn't pre-rinsed.

I buy quinoa at Costco and it says it is pre-rinsed so maybe ask next time you're there and see if there's another type of quinoa they sell. This is at the beltsville Costco, if that helps.

[Anonymous]

I still rinse it--use a fine mesh strainer and I kind of bang it upside down to get as much off as possible. I also pour the water/broth that I will cook it in through the strainer upside down and that can get some off too.

[Anonymous]

Never heard of rinsing it..why?

[Anonymous]

I use a mesh seive and the spray thingy on my faucet.

The reason quinoa is rinsed is because the seeds are naturally coated with saponins, which can do exciting and terrible things to your digestive system, and are also bitter. I rinse regardless of whether or not the quinoa is pre-rinsed, having made the mistake of not doing it exactly ONCE.

[Anonymous]

^^^

+1.

If your family hates quinoa, it's probably the bitterness of that stuff PP described. Try rinsing thoroughly and they may not hate it as much.

(From a DH who's still not crazy about quinoa. But it's getting better.)

[Anonymous]

Can you put it in a large pot of water and use your hand to swish the water around in a circular motion? And then use a sieve to drain the water out?

[Anonymous]

That's what I would do. Just like for salad greens. That's gotta be more effective than just the faucet sprayer and a sieve.

[Anonymous]

Rinse in the pot and carefully drain water. If you drain slowly, grains tend to not float and stick to each-other. Same with the rice.

If you learn the measurements of your pot, where the water comes up to the side when you have proper proportions of rice/quinoa and water, you don't even have to drain it so well. I rinse then drain some, repeat several times. There is usually still some water left when I start to fill with water for cooking to a certain level I know from experience is the right measure.