Food Uses of Selected Ancient Grains

The consumption of grains, cereals and pseudo- cereals such as Andean maize (Zea mays), amaranth (Amaranthus spp), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd), kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen), chia (Salvia hispanica L.), sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) and legumes as black turtle bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis) date backs to ancient times. Andean crops have been cultivated for thousands of years (since pre- Colombian times) including pseudocereals such as quinoa, kañiwa and amaranth, as well as the Andean lupin or tarwi and several pigmented varieties/ races of corns. Purple corn may well be the most representative and consumed among this type of cereal (Ayala, 1998; Ranilla et al.; Apostolidis et al., 2009). On the other hand, chia is originally from the central valley of Mexico and northern Guatemala (Peláez et al., 2019); it began to be used in human food around 3500 BC and acquired importance as a staple crop in Central Mexico between 1500 and 900 BC (Ayerza and Coates, 2005; Cahill, 2003). The seed was one of the main crops of pre- Columbian societies, consumed by Aztecs and Mayans in many food preparations; it was also used in medicine and paintings – surpassed only by corn and beans (Muñoz et al., 2012). Finally, black beans are native to some regions of the American continent and were domesticated from the wild legume distributed from northern Mexico to northeastern Argentina; nowadays black beans are popular around the world and consumed in various preparations. An example would be black bean- chili in Bolivia, “feijoada” in Brazil, “gallo pinto” in Costa Rica, mixed with rice called “Moros y Cristianos” in Cuba, in soup called “sopa de frijoles negros” in Puerto Rico and in a thick corn tortilla (pupusa) stuffed with black beans or in many dishes in Mexico like intact or refried (boiled, mashed) with rice and tortillas, in stews, in soups, in mixed dishes or in casseroles (The Bean Institute, 2014; Wright, 2008).