quinoa

[prettygoodword]

quinoa (KEEN-wah, kee-NOH-uh) - n., an amaranth (Chenopodium quinoa) native to the Andean highlands cultivated for its edible, starchy seeds; the seeds of this plant.



Thanks, WikiMedia!

FWIW, I rarely hear that second pronunciation. We cook it a lot in our house -- it has a nicely low glycemic index -- though not as much as rice. We got the name from Latin American Spanish quinoa/quínoa/quinua, from Quechua kínua/kinwa.


And since we're on food, a bonus word: lima bean (LAI-muh BEEN) - n., a bean (Phaseolus limensis) with a broad, flat, edible seed; the seed of this plant, also called butter bean.


Despite it being pronounced differently, it is indeed named after Lima, Peru (LEE-mah), from Classical Quechua Limaq, the one who speaks, after an oracle that was pronounced there, which in modern Quechua is rimaq, from rimay, to speak.

---L.

Comments

[pauraque]

It's tasty stuff!

[prettygoodword]

Indeed!

[full_metal_ox]

As well as pretty, with the way the corkscrew sprouts begin to unfurl like Type 4C hair after only a few minutes’ soaking at room temperature (this also shortens the cooking time.)

I’ve known people familiar with the keen-WAH pronunciation but not the etymology to assume that the grain was of East Asian origin.

[prettygoodword]

I do like that unfurling.