WHAT IS QUINOA?
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa) is a species of seeds of the Chenopodium or “goosefoot” family, and is botanically related to spinach. It was first brought to the United States from Chile nineteen years ago, according to Rebecca Theurer Wood. Quinoa has been cultivated in the Andes Mountains for thousands of years, growing three to six feet tall despite high altitudes, intense heat, freezing temperatures, and as little as four inches of annual rainfall. Peru and Bolivia maintain seed banks with 1,800 types of quinoa. In 1997, Rav Moshe Heinemann, shlit”a, STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator and world renowned Posek, approved quinoa to bear STAR-K-P, as it is not kitniyos.
IF IT’S NOT KITNIYOS, WHY DOES QUINOA NEED PASSOVER CERTIFICATION?
The StarK have found that quinoa can, at times, be either grown near barley, or rotated with a barley crop especially in Peru. Furthermore, barley, on occasion, is used to cover quinoa during drying, and the bags used to transport the quinoa may have previously contained flour of chometz. Therefore, quinoa should only be used with reliable Kosher for Passover certification. During the growing season, STAR-K sends one of its mashgichim to a set of quinoa fields in Bolivia where there is no concern of intermingling with barley. STAR-K ensures that the farmers do not rotate their crops and that they use new bags to pack their crops. A mashgiach is then dispatched to the bulk packing plant in Bolivia and also the final retail pack in the U.S. to ensure the Kosher for Passover status of the quinoa and equipment.
2013-THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF …. QUINOA
The United Nations named 2013 the International Year of Quinoa! Quinoa is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, cooked like rice, gluten-free, and loaded with vitamins and minerals. Even NASA is considering quinoa for long-duration planetary space flights. Quinoa has become increasingly popular in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Japan where the crop is not typically grown, increasing crop value. Between 2006 and early 2013, quinoa crop prices have tripled. What’s more, wholesale prices of quinoa rose by 88.2% over the last 12-month period.
PESACH 2014 – THERE IS STILL ENOUGH QUINOA FOR US!
With quinoa demand worldwide skyrocketing, ensuring a supply of reliably certified quinoa for Passover was a challenge. Working tirelessly with producers and distributors, the STAR-K team ensured that KFP quinoa would once again grace Pesach tables around the country.
STAR-K certified quinoa is premium Bolivian quinoa that is pre-washed and consequently has no bitter taste naturally found in quinoa. No checking is required.
( Press Release – STAR-K)
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15 Responses
How is it any different than corn? It’s a food other than the recognized grains that can be turned into a flour and baked into bread (just check online for recipes). In fact it is a machlochet poskim, with many holding quinoa to be unacceptable on Pesach – it is dishonest to imply this is a settled matter. However for those who hold by quinoa on Pesach, and don’t feel funny making as “she ha-kol” on bread and pizza, it does offer interesting options.
The O-U has certified it for Pesach.
Personally I am not really a fan of it as its kinda bland
Pre washed? Perhaps bleached and enriched to?
You can’t make any kind of bread with it at all. Rabbi Heineman tried everything he could to make it rise, and did not succeed= never got to state of mezonos even.
And, it is a seed. not different than a walnut.
yes, some people disagree…. they should call Rabbi Heineman who I am sure would be happy to share his research
akuperma, there are those that take the given formulas of the minhag, and those that limit it to the known items at the time of it’s origin, and used the statement hava ve’lo nosif leih. There are acharonim that generously say that potatoes and coffee (a bean!) are not kitniyos, and I have heard the shitta that nothing that came from the new world with Columbus and Cortez (potato, beans, pepper( capiscum),
corn, sunflower, and peanuts), are not included. The old world grain substitutes were rice, peas, broad beans (fava,) lentils, millet and sorghum.
Distinguishing Maize (as American corn is called in many countries)from Quinoa is problematic. Both are New World crops imported into Europe no earlier than the 16th century Both can be use to make breads and baked goods. The Star-K seems to believe that one can’t make bread from it, but if you “google” for QUINOA BREAD you find plenty of recipes (not to mention recipes for QUINOA COOKIES and QUINOA PIZZA). If the psak halacha permitting it on Pesach is based on misinformation, that suggests that the decision of Star-K and others is not to be relied on (for while it may be halachically correct that a non-grain that one can’t turn into bread is not kitniyos, they are misinformed about applying the halacha). One trusts the skills of rabbanim as posekim, not as bakers.
Akuperma. If you are basing your peak on incorrect research then the world must be suspect of your other posts. Please google cauliflower pizza. Better yet buy some. It is kosher and available year round and for Passover. But perhaps you disagree and consider cauliflower kitniyos as well. Hmmm. Well you are certainly the minority on that. Please don’t impugn the stark based on your incorrect assumption that googling quinoa pizza makes it kitniyos.
#7- Hey, let’s remember that Mr. Kuperman has taken upon himself the selfless task of making sure all OTHERS are frum!
I have seen advertisements for quinoa bread. I have also note that many rabbanim do NOT hold by eating quinoa on Pesach. I have also observed many rabbanim who hold that the logic of “kitniyos” is to prohibit quasi-grains that can be used to make bread. I have also observed that maize is considered kitniyos by many rabbanim, and that many of the people most anxious to have quinoa sandwiches are also among those anxious to have fewer kitniyos restrictions (and apparently quinoa is more suitable for breadmaking then maize).
Everyone should ask their personal posek, and not claim that it is “settled halacha” that quinoa is permissable on Pesach.
Akuperma: It is very difficult to distinguish. The basic answer is that corn is a quirk of history since the Old English (and German, I think) word “koren” was the same as their word for “grain”.
Akuperman. I have also seen raisin bread. Perhaps raisins are kitniyos? Oh I forgot raisins are treif
Corn is a carbohydrate as is rye wheat or rice and can rise went allowed but quina is a protein like grapes oranges and yes meat. Protein can not be used as a baking product that rised. Think of Passover cakes made of eggs In order to get them to rise you must stiffen egg whites or you have a latka
I just called the OK and they (along with other agencies) do not accept quinoa for Pesach. They hold that it is kitniyos and also that there is a chashash of actual chometz mixed in with the quinoa.
גרות משה או”ח חלק ג’ ס’ ס”ג להתיר ה”פּינאט” משום שלא נאסר קטניות מקיבוץ חכמים אלא ע”י מנהג ולא רצו להנהיג עוד איסורים כמו שלא חששו לאכול תפוחי אדמה אף שאפשר לעשות מהם קמח ועוד שאפילו רבים מגדולי אשכנז לא חששו לאכילת קטניות אפילו במקום שנהגו לאסור לכן אין להוסיף על המנהג אלא מה שכבר הונהג מקדם
#13 – Just the OK doesn’t hold of quinoa for Pesach, but STAR-K, OU, CRC, and KOF-K are all fine with it. Furthermore, the STAR-K makes clear that they go to considerable lengths to make there is no chashash of any chometz particles mixed into the quinoa. They visit the growing fields in South America, and have hashgocha temidis at all packing facilities and make sure the transport containers are all new/clean.