Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So I bought the bad of Bob's Red Mill Quinoa (which was not cheap) at the grocery store and every time I cook with it I feel like I am eating rocks. The bag doesn't say anything about rinsing or sorting, it actually says you can use right from the bag. I do rinse because it is habit. Do I need to be sorting through these?

Oh and husband won't eat it anymore because of the crunchies. I don't like it all that much for the same reason. But it is tasty and seems so healthy.

Are you cooking it long enough? When I first started cooking it, I thought all it took was for the tails to pop out. Then I learned that it gets lighter and much better if I cook it longer. Just an idea.

Yeah, could you give more info on how you're cooking it? I bring it to a boil (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water) on the stove, reduce heat to low and leave it to simmer (covered!) for about 15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. I tend to leave it off the heat, still covered, for another 10 minutes if I have a chance, and it always comes out perfectly.

I agree, sounds like it needs to be cooked for longer.

I followed the directions on the bag that said cook on medium for 12 to 14 minutes (can't remember which one without looking) and then take off heat and leave covered for 15 minutes.

Are you using enough water? I do 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water (maybe a bit more), bring the water to a boil, cover and turn off the heat and let the quinoa absorb the water until there is no water left, just soft and fluffy quinoa grains. It turns out every time and I am generally a pretty shitty cook.

Interesting. Are you bringing the water to a boil first?

I never time my quinoa, I just check it and taste it to see how it's going...so don't take it off the heat until you're sure it's not crunchy anymore?

when that happened to us we realized we weren't using enough water. we'd cook it for the suggested time, and make sure the water was all gone. It was not enough water & not enough time.

The quinoa ratio that we use now 1/4 C quinoa to 1 C water. If I watch to see when the water is gone with this ratio, I get the fluffiest quinoa each time.

i put mine in my rice maker and let it have at it. it sometimes shoots quinoa pellets out of the hole in the top (but only sometimes) otherwise it works perfectly.

I think I am cooking it right because 95% of the quinoa is fine, there are just some bites that crunch, and I mean that awful, something is in my mouth that shouldn't be kind of crunch. That is why I was wondering if you have to sort the grain. But they are so small and it seems really hard to sort through. Can there be little pebbles or rocks in the mix? I wrote Bob's Red Mill asking, but I don't know when they will get back with me. I did just get another bag at Whole Foods so maybe that bag of the grain won't give me the same problem.

For cooking it was 1 cup quinoa in a little over 2 cups boiling water. I cooked covered over medium for 12-14 minutes and left covered for another 15 off the heat.

I've had the same experience with quinoa! There are often extraneous materials (pebbles, sand) in it, just like in bulk beans or lentils. I am meticulous with sorting, rinsing, and cooking my grains/legumes--I simply will not cook it if I haven't sorted it thoroughly. I gave up eating as much quinoa as I would like to because of this problem. There is nothing that ruins a meal more than to chow down on your quinoa pilaf, have a pebble break(or not, ouch) all over your teeth, and have to go rinse the bits out of your mouth.

I've had this problem with different brands: Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and the brand you can buy at Costco. Unfortunately, quinoa is so small that it is hard to pick through like larger legumes. The only thing I can suggest is what I now do: only buy the white/yellow quinoa (there is no way to distinguish grit when using red quinoa) and sort through it on a large white platter in quarter cup (or less) intervals.

Glad I am not the only one. I wrote the company and they sent me out a new bag. Before I open that bag, I tried the stuff I bought from Whole Foods I think, and it was perfect. You could tell just by looking at the cooked pan that there wasn't going to be a problem. The older stuff you could see imperfections in it. I just thought they were darker quinoa grains.