Spotlight On Amaranth

Tiny Yet Packed Full Of Protein, Find Out Why This Ancient Seed Eaten By The Aztecs Has Had A Recent Surge In Popularity

- Maria Hoyle

You’ve no doubt heard of it, though you’re perhaps more familiar with its little cousin, quinoa. But amaranth has been growing in popularity in recent years, sharing the superfood spotlight with fellow ‘ancient grains’ like millet, buckwheat, sorghum, freekeh and the aforementioned quinoa.

In fact amaranth isn’t a grain at all. A tad disparagingly, it’s dubbed a ‘pseudo-grain’; but in amaranth’s defence, it does look like a grain – it’s tiny, like couscous – and it tends to be cooked like one.

If it’s not a grain, what is it? In many cases ancient grains, such as millet, chia, buckwheat and, yes, amaranth – are in fact seeds. However while ‘grain’ isn’t quite accurate, there’s nothing pseudo about the ‘ancient’ part. Amaranth – derived from the Greek ‘amarantos’ (‘one that never fades’) – is a native of Mesoamerica and the Andes. A staple food for the Incas and the Aztecs, it’s thought to have been around for between 6000 and 8000 years.

What’s so good about it?