How Do You Differentiate The Different Grades For Quinoa?

Quinoa grows best at between 2500 and 3800 m above sea level. Quinoa is highly sought after in recent years due to its high quality proteins, high proportion of essential amino acids, Omega 3, 6, 9 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Quinoa contains saponins which is a coating level that protects the grain from pests. It has a bitter taste and is toxic to human bodies and hence needs to be removed before human consumption. Quinoa’s saponin level varies widely from 0.06% to 5.1%. With harvest from quinoa-friendly climate and area and proper grain enhancement technique, saponin can be reduced to the lowest level of 0.01%. This is commonly denoted as 99.99% purity, which is the type of quinoa that Superlife Co carries. The level of saponin level depends on the area that they are being grown. Quinoa that are grown in salt lake areas are high in saponin and they are hard to be removed.  In fact, it was found that the more bitter the quinoa, the more difficult it is to reduce the saponin level. The cheaper quinoa that are found in the super market generally contains about 3% to 5% of quinoa and are usually cheaper as they can be easily harvested and / or it involves minimal post-harvesting process. Do rinse the quinoa carefully until the foams disappear before cooking them.