It is an annual herbaceous plant cultivated as a cereal crop mainly for its edible seeds. Because it is not an herb, it is a pseudocereal. Quinoa is closely related to the edible plants of beets, spinach and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), Another pseudocereal that closely resembles.
After harvest, the seeds are processed to remove the outer coating that contains bitter tasting saponins. In general, the seeds are cooked in the same way as rice and can be used in a wide range of dishes. The leaves are sometimes eaten as a leaf vegetable, like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is limited.
When cooked, the nutritional composition is comparable to common cereals such as wheat and rice, supplying a moderate amount of dietary fiber and minerals.
Quinoa originated in the Andean region of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile and was domesticated 3,000 to 4,000 years ago for human consumption in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia, although archaeological evidence shows an association not domesticated with grazing 5,200 to 7,000 years ago.
Plant growth is highly variable due to the number of different subspecies, varieties, and indigenous varieties (domesticated plants or animals adapted to the environment in which they originated).
Quinoa was domesticated by the Andean peoples around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. It has been an important staple in Andean cultures where the plant is indigenous but relatively obscure to the rest of the world. The Incas, who held that the harvest was sacred, referred to it as “chisoya madre” or “mother of all grains”, and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using “golden implements”.
During the Spanish conquest of South America, the colonists despised it as "food for the Indians", and suppressed its cultivation, due to its status within indigenous religious ceremonies. The conquerors at one point outlawed the cultivation of quinoa, and the Incas were forced to grow wheat instead.
