So that's a thing.
I just made some amaranth popcorn and actually it's pretty nice. Quick note for those of you who want to try making it, it's not like making popcorn, it's so small it burns easy. What you want to do is heat a pan until it's hot enough that if you place a drop of water in it, it dances and evaporates, then, place about 1-2 tablespoons into the pan and cover quickly (or if it's kinda deep, you might not have to, they don't jump anywhere near as high as popcorn). It should take 1-3 seconds to START popping, and then slow down in about 10-15 seconds, don't keep them in there too long as they burn fast.
My thoughts on it after trying it out? It's an extremely nice crunch-able, if you want a snack you can crunch under your teeth, then amaranth popcorn is for you. 100 grams of amaranth compared to 100 grams of normal popcorn is a little less than a third in calories, and apparently it also has the highest amount of protein out of all grain types. Here's the thing though, amaranth is smaller than normal corn, and not by a small degree, I saw a picture of an amaranth grain next to a popped one, and a green lentil out-sized them easily. They're EXTREMELY nice crunch-ables, but admittedly they're not like munching on normal popcorn, also they're so small you'll find yourself using a spoon to eat them (or tipping them from the plate into your mouth).
Also, do not, I repeat, do not blow on them to cool them off once you've taken them from the pot, they're so light they WILL fly away. Old habits die hard and I blew on them a second time after my first mistake.
Again though, they burn easy, you have to follow the instructions if you want to cook them. I tried microwaving them but I just ended up with a mix of uncooked and burned amaranth. I tried slowly cooking them in a pot, and again, burnt and uncooked amaranth (although there may have been like a VERY small amount that actually eventually popped).
Will maybe try popped quinoa eventually.
I just made some amaranth popcorn and actually it's pretty nice. Quick note for those of you who want to try making it, it's not like making popcorn, it's so small it burns easy. What you want to do is heat a pan until it's hot enough that if you place a drop of water in it, it dances and evaporates, then, place about 1-2 tablespoons into the pan and cover quickly (or if it's kinda deep, you might not have to, they don't jump anywhere near as high as popcorn). It should take 1-3 seconds to START popping, and then slow down in about 10-15 seconds, don't keep them in there too long as they burn fast.
My thoughts on it after trying it out? It's an extremely nice crunch-able, if you want a snack you can crunch under your teeth, then amaranth popcorn is for you. 100 grams of amaranth compared to 100 grams of normal popcorn is a little less than a third in calories, and apparently it also has the highest amount of protein out of all grain types. Here's the thing though, amaranth is smaller than normal corn, and not by a small degree, I saw a picture of an amaranth grain next to a popped one, and a green lentil out-sized them easily. They're EXTREMELY nice crunch-ables, but admittedly they're not like munching on normal popcorn, also they're so small you'll find yourself using a spoon to eat them (or tipping them from the plate into your mouth).
Also, do not, I repeat, do not blow on them to cool them off once you've taken them from the pot, they're so light they WILL fly away. Old habits die hard and I blew on them a second time after my first mistake.
Again though, they burn easy, you have to follow the instructions if you want to cook them. I tried microwaving them but I just ended up with a mix of uncooked and burned amaranth. I tried slowly cooking them in a pot, and again, burnt and uncooked amaranth (although there may have been like a VERY small amount that actually eventually popped).
Will maybe try popped quinoa eventually.
