Native Foods From Peru to the world by Teresa Blanco de Alvarado-Ortiz

Author:Teresa Blanco de Alvarado-Ortiz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: USIL
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

2 Andean grains: chenopodiaceae, amarantus, cereal and legumes

Chenopodiaceae

Cañihua, kañiwa

The cañihua is a chenopodiaceous plant native of Peru and the Andean valleys, which grows between 2800 and 4000 masl, in very cold climates, although it also grows without difficulty in warm climates. Thanks to its essential amino acids, some100 g of raw grains of cañihua contain between 13,8 and 14,3 g of proteins of high biological value. Its green leaves –which are consumed as vegetables– contain a smaller amount of proteins.

The cañihua has other names: in the Quechua language it is kanawa and kañahua, while in Aymara it Is aara and kañahua. It is an Andean grain, closely studied by the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno, from 1962 until the beginning of the decade after 2000, in which was published La cañihua en la nutrición humana del Perú (Cañihua in the human nutrition of Peru) (Mujica, A. et al., 2002).

It is a small grain, measuring 1 millimeter (mm) in diameter. It is like that of the kiwicha and smaller than that of the quinoa. The embryo or germ is inside the grain, occupying 20%. The toasted and crushed grains are called cañihuaco, and have been industrialized for some 25 years. The flour of cañihua is called piri and is obtained by grinding the grains. It is used to make mazamorra, cakes, drinks and juices. The kispiño is cañihua bread prepared with a mixture of cañihua flour (20%) and wheat flour (80%).

A study related to the effect of a diet of toasted cañihua flour on the lipidic profile of weaned albino rats showed that the consumption of cañihuaco or toasted cañihua flour for a determined time –30 and 60 days increased the possibility of raising their levels of HDLC (High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol) up to five times more than rats fed with caseín (Porras, O. M., Blanco, T., Muñoz J., A. M., Alvarado, O. C. & Serván, K., 2006).

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