Editing Amaranth (section)

=== Seed ===
Several species are raised for amaranth "grain" in Asia and the Americas. Amaranth and its relative [[quinoa]] are considered [[pseudocereal]]s because of their similarities to cereals in flavor and cooking. The spread of ''Amaranthus'' is of a joint effort of human expansion, adaptation, and fertilization strategies. Grain amaranth has been used for food by humans in several ways. The grain can be ground into a flour for use like other grain flours. It can be popped like popcorn, or flaked like oatmeal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/crops/amaranth.aspx |title=Amaranth |website=University of Wisconsin - Corn Agronomy |author1=D. H. Putnam |author2=E. S. Oplinger |author3=J. D. Doll |author4=E. M. Schulte |date=November 1989}}</ref>

Seeds of Amaranth grain have been found in [[Antofagasta de la Sierra Department]], [[Catamarca Province|Catamarca]], Argentina in the southern [[Puna de Atacama|Puna]] desert of the north of Argentina dating from 4,500 years ago, with evidence suggesting earlier use.<ref name="Arrequez etal" /> Archeological digs unearthed ''A.&nbsp;cruentus'' seeds in a cave in [[Tehuacán]], Mexico that dated to 6,000 years before present, while other digs in the same caves found ''A.&nbsp;hypochondriacus'' seeds dating to 1500 years before present.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250511051625/https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/eb7af3d4-ea88-4e87-b8f0-c1da1cf4aaa1/content |last1=Brenner |first1=D. M. |title=Genetic Resources and Breeding of ''Amaranthus'' |date=2010-07-23 |work=Plant Breeding Reviews |pages=227–285 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |isbn=978-0-470-65017-2 |last2=Baltensperger |first2=D. D. |last3=Kulakow |first3=P. A. |last4=Lehmann |first4=J. W. |last5=Myers |first5=R. L. |last6=Slabbert |first6=M. M. |last7=Sleugh |first7=B. B. |doi=10.1002/9780470650172.ch7}}</ref>

Ancient amaranth grains still used include the three species ''[[Amaranthus caudatus]]'', ''[[Amaranthus cruentus|A.&nbsp;cruentus]]'', and ''A.&nbsp;hypochondriacus''.<ref name="Costea06">{{cite journal |last1=Costea |first1=M. |last2=Brenner |first2=D. M. |last3=Tardif |first3=F. J. |last4=Tan |first4=Y. F. |last5=Sun |first5=M. |title=Delimitation of ''Amaranthus cruentus'' L. and ''Amaranthus caudatus'' L. using micromorphology and AFLP analysis: an application in germplasm identification |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |date=6 October 2006 |volume=53 |issue=8 |pages=1625–1633 |issn=0925-9864 |doi=10.1007/s10722-005-0036-3}}</ref> Evidence from [[single-nucleotide polymorphism]]s and [[chromosome structure]] supports ''A.&nbsp;hypochondriacus'' as the common ancestor of the three grain species.<ref name="stetter2">{{Cite journal |last1=Stetter |first1=Markus G. |last2=Zeitler |first2=Leo |last3=Steinhaus |first3=Adrian |last4=Kroener |first4=Karoline |last5=Biljecki |first5=Michelle |last6=Schmid |first6=Karl J. |date=2016-06-07 |title=Crossing Methods and Cultivation Conditions for Rapid Production of Segregating Populations in Three Grain Amaranth Species |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |volume=7 |pages=816 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2016.00816 |pmid=27375666 |pmc=4894896 |issn=1664-462X |doi-access=free}}</ref>

It has been proposed as an inexpensive native crop that could be cultivated by indigenous people in rural areas for several reasons:
* A small amount of seed plants a large area (seeding rate 1&nbsp;kg/ha).
* Yields are high compared to the seeding rate: 1,000&nbsp;kg or more per hectare.
* It is easily harvested and easily processed, post harvest, as there are no hulls to remove.
* Its seeds are a source of protein.<ref name="Tucker 1986" /><ref name=mpoll>De Macvean & Pöll (1997). Chapter 8: Ethnobotany. Tropical Tree Seed Manual, USDA Forest Service, edt. J.A Vozzo.</ref>
* It has rich content of the [[dietary mineral]]s, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.<ref name=usdamrth/>
* In cooked and edible forms, amaranth retains adequate content of several [[dietary minerals]].<ref name=usdamrth>{{cite web |title=USDA National Nutrient Database: cooked amaranth grain per 100 grams; Full report |url=https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170683/nutrients |date=2014 |access-date=7 October 2019}}</ref>
* It is easy to cook. Boil in water with twice the amount of water as grain by volume (or 2.4 times as much water by weight). Amaranth seed can also be popped one tablespoon at a time in a hot pan without oil, shaken every few seconds to avoid burning.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOwOZxHmwCU |title=How to puff amaranth | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211122/eOwOZxHmwCU| archive-date=2021-11-22 | url-status=live |website=YouTube |date=28 November 2017 |publisher=Green Healthy Cooking |access-date=September 20, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* It grows fast and, in three cultivated species, the large seedheads can weigh up to 1&nbsp;kg and contain a half-million small seeds.<ref name="Tucker 1986" />

In the United States, the amaranth crop is mostly used for seed production. Most amaranth in American food products starts as a ground flour, blended with wheat or other flours to create cereals, crackers, cookies, bread or other baked products. Despite utilization studies showing that amaranth can be blended with other flours at levels above 50% without affecting functional properties or taste, most commercial products use amaranth only as a minor portion of their ingredients despite them being marketed as "amaranth" products.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.extension.iastate.edu/alternativeag/cropproduction/amaranth.html |title=Amaranth: Alternative Agriculture |last=Delate |first=Kathleen |publisher=Iowa State University |date=2013}}</ref>
<!--original research === Seed flour ===

Amaranth seed flour has been evaluated as an additive to wheat flour by food specialists. To determine palatability, different levels of amaranth grain flour were mixed with the wheat flour and baking ingredients (1% salt, 2.5% fat, 1.5% yeast, 10% sugar, and 52–74% water), fermented, molded, pan-proofed, and baked. The baked products were evaluated for loaf volume, moisture content, color, odor, taste, and texture. The amaranth-containing products were then compared with bread made from 100% wheat flour. The loaf volume decreased by 40% and the moisture content increased from 22 to 42% with increase in amaranth grain flour. The study found that the sensory scores of the taste, odor, color, and texture decreased with increasing amounts of amaranth. Generally, above 15% amaranth grain flour, significant differences occurred in the evaluated sensory qualities and the high amaranth-containing product was found to be of unacceptable palatability to the population sample that evaluated the baked products.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The effect of amaranth grain flour on the quality of bread |author=Jerome Ayo |doi=10.1081/JFP-100105198 |journal=International Journal of Food Properties |year=2001 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=341 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1081/JFP-100105198}}</ref>
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