Amaranths Amaranths
The Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae) provides us with a broad range of foods: greens and herbs, roots and seeds. Amaranth grow well at high altitudes, in colder and uncertain climates and on difficult land. The Incas depended on amaranths for survival in their harsh, high altitude lands but they have been important in other parts of the world as well, particularly in the Slavic countries. Many species of the Amaranthoideae subfamily are also grown for their highly decorative flowers.

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General & History

Amaranth - [subfamily Amaranthoideae]


Amaranth - Greens - [Chinese spinach; Hinn Choy, Hen Choy, Yin Tsoi (China), Amaranthus species]
Amaranth Amaranth greens are eaten through much of the world. The photo specimens were obtained from a market in Los Angeles serving a mixed Vietnamese / Chinese community but it is also very popular in parts of India and the Caribbean. It is similar to spinach in use but not as delicate so it accepts rougher handling and longer cooking. It's also a bit less tart.

Amaranth - Seeds - [Kiwicha (Inca), Amaranthus cruentis, Amaranthus hypochondriaca]
Amaranth seeds Amaranth was of great importance to the Incas because it grew well in the high mountainous regions of Peru and was highly nutritious. It is also of some importance in the Himalaya region of Asia for similar reasons. Spanish conquerors of Peru were highly disturbed by its use in a ritual too close to Christian communion for comfort and banned its cultivation but the crop has recently gone back into production because of its nutritional attributes.

Amaranth is high in protien and that protein is nearly perfectly balanced for human consumption. Wheat, rice and corn must be accompanied by beans to balance the protein content but that isn't necessary with amaranth. Amaranth is also gluten free for people allergic to gluten

Celosia - [Lagos Spinach, Quail Grass, Soko Yokoto (Nigeria), Celosia argentea]
A plant very similar to Amaranth much used in West and Central Africa, but it's also eaten as greens in Southeast Asia, South America and the West Indies.

Beets - [genus Beta of subfamily Chenopodioideae]

Beet - Red - [Beta vulgaris]
Red Beets A cultivated variety developed for edible roots, red beets are particularly appreciated in the Slavic countries but also throughout Europe and North America. The color comes from a purple pigment, betacyanin, and a yellow pigment, betaxanthin, which are acid stable so beets can be pickled. Beets are high in boron, a mineral important to production of human sex hormones, and have had an aphrodisiac reputation since Roman times. Beets are very sweet with a sugar content that can reach 10%. The photo specimens were typically 3-1/2 inch in diameter, weighed 11 ounces each, and provided an additional 7 ounces of edible greens and stems. Details and Cooking.

Beet - Golden - [Beta vulgaris]
Golden Beets This cultivar is useful when you need to avoid the red pigments of regular beets getting all over everything. I find them a little less sweet and having a little less beet flavor than red beets so I'd use them only when the color is important..

Beet - Chioggia - [Beta vulgaris]
This Italian beet, named for a town near Venice, is the sweeter than any but the sugar beet. From the outside it looks like a red beet but internally it has alternating layers of red and white giving it a candy stripe appearance. I've not seen one around here, though, even at farmer's markets.

Beet - Sugar - [Beta vulgaris]
Sugar Beets While it was long known sugar could be obtained from beets, beet sugar production didn't really start until the Napoleonic wars when the British cut off cane sugar deliveries to Europe. Sugar beets produce sucrose, identical to sugar from cane and have a sugar content as high as 20%. Photo USDA, public domain

Chard - [Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Beta vulgaris var. cicla]
Chard A cultivated variety of the Sea Beet developed for edible leaves, a vegetable deserving of wider appreciation. Currently available in several colors some of which are shown in the photo, though red and white are most common in markets, leaves are cooked similar to spinach and the stems similar to asparagus. The photo specimens are about 15 inches long, but they can exceed 18 inches.

Although never much grown in Switzerland, these greens were called "Swiss Chard" to differentiate them from Cardoons which were also called chard. Cardoons are no longer called chard so the "Swiss" part is redundant.

Sea Beet - [Beta vulgaris subspecies maritima]
A leathery leafed wild beet native to the coasts of Europe and the British Isles. Some say this is the plant from which domesticated beets were derived, but others say it was another wild beet, beta vulgaris vulgaris. Young leaves and shoots are eaten both raw and cooked but become unpalatable later in the season.

Goosefoots - [genus Chenopodia of subfamily Chenopodioideae]
The Chenopodia are a large and diverse family of often weedy plants some of which have significant culinary importance.

Epazota - [Wormseed, Jesuit's Tea, Mexican Tea, Herba Sancti Mariæ, Chenopodium ambrosioides]
Epazota A common weed in southern Mexico, Central and South America Epazota is now grown in the warmer parts of the U.S. and sometimes becomes an invasive weed here. Its main culinary use is for flavoring black beans and to a lesser extent other recipes from southern Mexico. It is reputed to prevent flatulence from eating beans and to relieve a number of medical conditions. An oil extracted from it kills intestinal worms and is also an antispasmodic and abortifacient.

Goosefoot, White - [Lamb's Quarters, Fat Hen, Chenopodium album ]
White Goosefoot A common weed all over the U.S. particularly on disturbed ground. It is easily recognized by the leaf shape and the white powdery underside of the leaves which repel water. The leaves may be cooked and eaten similar to spinach but the flavor is different and the leaves are tougher. It produces copious seeds which are quite nutritious but is not a commercial crop.

Kañiwa - [Chenopodium pallidicaule]
An incompletely domesticated relative of Quinoa which lacks the annoying bitter saponins but it doesn't ripen evenly so is difficult to harvest..

Quinoa - [Chenopodium quinoa]
Quinoa Pronounced "keenwa", this plant is native to the Andean region of South America. It is grown mostly in Peru and Bolivia but some production has been started in North America because of its reputation as a health food. While the greens are edible they are rarely available and the seeds are the part generally used. Quinoa is high in protein (12% to 18%) but its most outstanding feature is the protein is nearly completely balanced for humans. Wheat, rice and corn must be accompanied by beans to balance the protein content but that isn't necessary with quinoa. Quinoa is also gluten free for people allergic to gluten.

Quinoa seeds tiny as seen in the photo compared to our standard red kidney bean, but the plant is a prolific producer. The seeds are coated with bitter saponins making them inedible as harvested and a couple of soakings and rinsings in water are needed to remove them. Quinoa sold boxed in the U.S. has generally already been processed to remove saponins. High yield low saponin varieties were developed but were not successful because birds ate the entire crop before it could be harvested.

Spinach - [Spinacia oleracea of subfamily Chenopodioideae]
Spinach A native of Southwest Asia, spinach is delightful properly handled and cooked but is easily abused. Many people know it only as a stringy lump of overcooked mush. Cultivars are Savoy, the most common fresh spinach, Smooth Leaf, used for frozen and processed spinach (easier to wash) and Semi-savoy, a sort of all-purpose spinach. Baby Spinach is sold in plastic bags and boxes for the yuppie salad trade. Just about all the leaves are the flavorless oval form but may be preferred by people who don't like real spinach.

Spinach's reputation for very high iron content was due to an analyst slipping a decimal point in 1870, not corrected until 1937. It still has a higher iron content than most vegetables but not by so spectacular a measure. Spinach is also high in calcium but a high oxalate content inhibits absorption of both calcium and iron into the body. On the other hand it is high in Vitamins A, C and E, folic acid and antioxidants. Details & Cooking.

Tumbleweed - [Russian Thistle, Saltwort, Salsola tragus and other Salsola species of subfamily Salsoloideae]
Tumbleweed Now symbolic of empty spaces in the American West, tumbleweeds were actually brought over by Ukrainian farmers with flax seed, thus the more formal name, Russian Thistle. It took the plant only about 25 years to spread from South Dakota to the Pacific Coast. The plant is roughly spherical and in the fall it dries and breaks off the root to be driven many miles by the wind scattering seeds the whole way. Tender leaves and shoots of some species are used as salad greens and garnishes, particularly in Italy (Barba di Frate) and Japan (okahijiki).

Back in the late 1950s every vacant lot in Burbank California was overgrown with tumbleweed and people would spray paint dried ones white and stack them up to make Southern California snowmen around Christmas time. Today they have been so thoroughly eradicated I had to buy a picture of one for this page - but then the vacant lot has also been eradicated from Burbank.

Health & Nutrition

Amaranth greens all have similar health considerations differing only in degree. While they are high in iron and calcium they are also high in oxalate which partially inhibits absorption of those nutrients by the body. They are, however, also rich in vitamins A, C and E, folic acid and antioxidants which the oxalate does not inhibit.

Other than absorption, oxalate can contribute to formation of kidney stones and gout. It is only one of many contributing factors and probably not the strongest, but it's probably not a good idea to make these vegetables a major part of your diet.

Edible amaranth roots and seeds do not carry significant amounts of oxalate.

Amaranth greens are high in nitrates so it may not be wise to reheat them as leftovers. Bacteria which grow under high nitrate conditions produce enzymes that convert nitrates to nitrites. Nitrites can be dangerous to infants less than a year old and particularly less than 6 months old. Older children and adults are not bothered by small quantities of nitrites.

Nitrites can form into possibly carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach but the level of risk, if any, is not established and the conversion is inhibited by vitamin C which is strongly present in amaranth greens.

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