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Category: Gluten free

Quinoa and Amaranth

Quinoa and Amaranth

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In this post, we’re going to talk about two grains native to the Andean highlands, located between Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, which have been the basis of the diet for these communities since ancient times. Both grains have been consumed by the Incas and earlier cultures (for about 7000 years), and they have gained popularity in Western countries in recent years. These grains are quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus), also known as kiwicha in their countries of origin….

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Buckwheat

Buckwheat

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General Aspects Buckwheat, or Fagopyrum esculentum, is a plant native to central and northeastern Asia. From there, it spread to Europe through Russia and Turkey in the 14th and 15th centuries, and later to North America. Its cultivation peaked in the 19th century, gradually declining up to the present day. However, in recent years, it has experienced growth due to the rise of gluten-free products and the nutritional quality of this grain. Currently, its cultivation is centred in China and…

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Millet, Teff, and Fonio

Millet, Teff, and Fonio

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To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how to title this entry, as it’s a confusing topic. I had thought of calling it “African grains,” but some of the grains we’re going to talk about are cultivated in large areas of Asia (in fact, most of the production is concentrated in Asia), and sorghum is an African cereal that has little in common with these. I also considered titling it “small grains,” but the term “small” is quite ambiguous. Lastly,…

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Rice Flour

Rice Flour

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Rice flour does not have any inherent advantages over the use of wheat flour. It is a fairly nutritionally poor white flour, as rice is one of the cereals with the highest starch content. Its protein, fibre, and bioactive substance content are lower compared to other cereal flours. Rice flour also does not contribute any specific aroma or flavour, being quite neutral. Lastly, the cost of rice flour is higher than that of other flours like wheat in Western countries….

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Corn Flour

Corn Flour

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Corn is one of the most cultivated cereals in the world, alongside wheat and rice. However, unlike wheat and rice, its consumption in the form of flour is much less common. The reason for this difference lies in the large amount of corn used for animal feed and industrial production of starch and derived products, some of which are returned to the food industry. There is also a significant amount of corn used for biofuel production. Although food products containing…

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Oats: A Unique and Interesting Cereal

Oats: A Unique and Interesting Cereal

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Oats are a very curious and interesting cereal. Yet, at least in Spain, they are not experiencing the success they could. As we will see, this cereal shares similarities with others, but it also has significant differences, both in composition and morphology, that make it very special. Let’s start by highlighting that oats are a husked cereal, like barley or rice (there are also husked wheats, but these are less common). This means that in companies that process oats, specific…

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Quality of cake flours

Quality of cake flours

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Just as with cookies, there are different types of cakes, and they don’t all have the same requirements in terms of the quality of the flours used. In the Anglo-Saxon world, the names of different cakes are very clear, and we can distinguish pound cakes, layer cakes, chiffon cakes, sponge cakes, angel cakes, etc. But in the Spanish-speaking world, these designations are not as specific, and we rely more on formulations to understand what we’re talking about. Even within different…

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