A pseudocereal or pseudograin is one of any non-grasses that are used in much the same way as cereals (true cereals are grasses). Pseudocereal can be further distinguished from other non-cereal staple crops (such as potatoes) by their being processed like a cereal: their seed can be ground into flour and otherwise used as a cereal. Prominent examples include amaranth (love-lies-bleeding, red amaranth, Prince-of-Wales-feather), quinoa, and buckwheat. The pseudocereals have a good nutritional profile, with high levels of essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals, and some vitamins. The starch in pseudocereals has small granules and low amylose content (except for buckwheat), which gives it similar properties to waxy-type cereal starches. The functional properties of pseudocereals, such as high viscosity, water-binding capacity, swelling capability, and freeze-thaw stability, are determined by their starch properties and seed morphology. Pseudocereals are gluten-free, and they are used to make 100% gluten-free products, which has increased their popularity.
Taxonomic range
Amaranthaceae
Amaranth (love-lies-bleeding, red amaranth, Prince-of-Wales-feather) Cañahua Cockscomb, also called quail grass or soko Djulis Goosefoot Pitseed goosefoot Hanza Orache Quinoa
Fabaceae
Wattleseed, also called acacia seed. There are many species, including sandplain wattle and elegant wattle.
Fagales
Acorn
Lamiaceae
Chia Pignut
Moraceae
Breadnut
Polygonaceae
Buckwheat Bitter (Tatar) buckwheat Tall buckwheat
Production
This table shows the annual production of some pseudocereals in 1961 (the earliest year for which FAO statistics are available), 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013; they are ranked by 2013 production.
Grain Worldwide production (millions of metric tons) Notes 1961 2010 2011 2012 2013 Buckwheat 2.5 1.4 2.3 2.3 2.5 A pseudocereal in the family Polygonaceae that is used extensively in India during fasts, and in Eurasia and to a minor degree the United States and Brazil. Major uses include various pancakes, groats, and noodle production. Quinoa 0.03 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.10 A pseudocereal in the family Amaranthaceae, traditional to the Andes, but increasingly popular elsewhere.
Other grains that are locally important, but are not included in FAO statistics, include: Amaranth, an ancient pseudocereal, formerly a staple crop of the Aztec Empire, widely grown in Africa. Kañiwa or Cañahua, close relative of quinoa.
References