Wild Amaranth is a latecomer to the table, not appearing until mid-June as a young sproutling, nor big enough for the table until July and August. You won’t find it in the wilder places as it is a more civilized plant, preferring to grow close to man, with a particular affinity for farmers. The best places to look for it are on farms or in your garden, places of sowing and reaping.
Amaranth has arich history as a staple food of the highly advanced and fascinating Aztec civilization in Central and South America. It has few rivals in the plant kingdom for its high-protein, nutrient-dense seeds and foliage. It is also a virtually untapped agricultural resource.
There are many varieties of Amaranth, some are cultivated and bred for their edible, grain-like seeds, others as a floral ornamental. Still other varieties have gone wild and are despised by farmers for their tenacity and persistence in the fields. A common folk name for Wild Amaranth is “Pigweed”, suggesting that it is only fit to throw to the hogs.
Although Amaranth is grown agriculturally for its seed, it is not technically considered a grain. It is actually more closely related to spinach, beets, chard, and lambsquarters than to the cereal grasses that make up the primary food staples of the world. Quinoa is probably its nearest of kin, with a fairly similar profile and just about as unfamiliar as Amaranth in the mainstream.
Wild Amaranth is not nearly as tall, stately, and well-bred as its cultivated brethren are. Left to grow unhindered it gets about 3 or 4 feet tall at best, with much smaller seedheads. The wild seeds are black, rather than a pale blonde like the agricultural variety. The wild seeds also have a tough impenetrable hull that makes them not suitable as a wild grain. They have the consistency of gravel in your bread and even ground like flour, if not finely sifted, they feel like sand on the palate. This tough exterior does give them superior survival skills as Wild Amaranth seeds can lie dormant in the field for up to 50 years, germinating only when conditions are right and enough frost and scarification have taken place. Thus they stubbornly resist the farmer’s efforts to eradicate them.
You can buy food-grade Amaranth seedat a co-op or specialty shop at a pretty reasonable price. It is not well-known or a common market item, but it is slowly inching it’s way into the public eye. It has tremendous potential as an agricultural resource as it has a heavy seed:harvest ratio. One tiny seed about as big as a period can produce up to a pound of edible grain in prime growing conditions. The greens are also edible with a stunning nutritional profile. Research into its potential to impact world hungeris very encouraging…..the Aztecs were definitely on to something here. For more on Amaranth and world hunger see also these links:
Locally, I harvest the Wild Amaranth for its powerhouse greens. A nutritional profile of Wild Amaranth is quite convicting. I find them out in the cultivated farm fields (not hay fields) throughout July or August. I am fortunate to have organic farms to harvest from, as this plant is a major target for broad-leaf pesticides and it also tends to draw up unhealthy levels of nitrates in chemically fertilized soils
I harvest the greens when the plant is between 6 & 12 inches tall, and I use them like a cooked spinach. Some might find Wild Amaranth difficult to identify because the greens are harvested before the signature seedhead emerges. Taking some time to get to know your weeds is definitely worthwhile.
Raw Amaranth greens are rather tough and chewy, nor are they particularly appetizing or co-operative as a salad green. Once cooked, however, they can easily pass for spinach. No one whould ever know the difference if you didn’t advertise. You could really get one over on the ‘pigweed’ crowd!
Wild Amaranth greens are good enough for the freezer if you have an abundant supply of them. To freeze them, I simply put on a big pot of water. I add the greens after the water is boiling and cook them for about 3-5 minutes. Then I strain them out and let them cool to room temperature. (Save the cooking liquid for soupstock or nourishing tonic drinks!) I put them in freezer bags in either 2 or 4 cup portions so they are already measured out for recipes. Then I label them and freeze.
To prepare Wild Amaranth greens for use in my favorite recipes, I parboil them the same way I do for the freezer. Then I can store them in the fridge until needed or use them right away. I use them in many of the same recipes I use for Nettles or Spinach or Lambsquarters. Here’s some recipes they go very well in:
哈哈哈哈 O(∩_∩)O哈哈~ 好久不来了，不小心看了一眼自己主页，发现自动关联了自己以往发过的帖，点进这个看了一眼，笑个半死。。。敢情我当初还发过这么搞笑的东西啊，我自己完全不记得了 
雷达卡
发表于 2007-7-8 06:11:58
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千斤顶
发表于 2007-7-8 06:31:50
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楼主
自家的自留地可以少种一样绿色植物 
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