Product OverviewAmaranth Grain

General Information About Amaranth
Applications

General Information
Garuda International’s Amaranth products are obtained from the grain Amaranthus, grown and harvested in the United States of America. Amaranth has been cultivated throughout history, dating back to the Aztec and Inca cultures. Amaranth fell from favor when the Conquistadors noticed that the popping of amaranth seeds played a central role in Aztec pagan ceremonies. But today it has been found that this fibrous grain contains three times more fiber than wheat and five times more iron than wheat. It’s unique nutritional properties make it a grain with many applications in the food industry.

Product Characteristics
Amaranth grows vigorously in most climates and needs a minimum of water. Both the leaves, which taste like spinach, and the seeds contain a high concentration of lysine, an essential amino acid lacking in all of the world’s main cereal crops. One study conducted in Denmark concluded that the addition of amaranth to other cereal flours improved protein quality without affecting energy utilization. A study published in the Journal of Food Science concluded that amaranth is also highly suitable for utilization in infant formulas. The seeds can be used for breads, pastries, or can be popped like corn. In addition to its high fiber, calcium and iron, amaranth also has two times more calcium than milk. When used in combination with wheat, corn or brown rice Amaranth offers a complete protein as high in food value as fish, red meat or poultry. Cooked amaranth has a total digestibility of about 90%. Amaranth’s unique nutty flavor makes it a welcome addition to many types of food products.

Product Uses
Amaranth has a wide variety of applications in the food industry. It is available from Garuda International as a whole grain. It can also be puffed (like tiny popped corn) or ground into a whole grain flour. Amaranth can be used in a number of food products including breakfast cereals, breadings for meat, fish, poultry, or vegetables, confectionery products (i.e. added to chocolate for taste and texture), salad condiments (i.e. in croutons, or puffed grain sprinkled directly on salads), baked products (breads, muffins, cookies, biscuits), extruded snack foods and chips, pastas, health foods, soups, and dietetic products.

Amaranth's potential applications are truly unlimited for creative food formulators, who should always keep Amaranth in mind whenever a delicious nutty flavor and "high-powered" nutrition is desired.

Nutritionist’s protein value score chart (100 is considered ideal)

	Amaranth		75
	Cow’s Milk		72
	Soybeans		68
	Barley			62
	Wheat			60
	Peanuts			52
	Corn			44

As shown above, Amaranth scores high in protein value when compared to other grains. When Amaranth is combined with other grains, the protein value score approaches the ideal amino acid reference pattern established in 1973 by the FAO/WHO of the United Nations.
*Source: National Research Council, 1984 Amaranth, Modern Proposals For An Ancient Crop.

Composition of Grains (USDA & National Research Council)

	   Protein   Lysine  Carbohydrate  Calcium   Iron	Phosphorous
Grain Type  	 %	  %	g/100g	   mg/100g  mg/100g 	mg/100g
Amaranth	16	.85	63 	   162	    10.0	 455
Corn		 9	.25	74	   20        1.8	 256
Rye		13	.40	73	   38 	     2.6	 376
Buckwheat	12	.58	72	   33	     2.8	 282
Wheat		10	.35	71	   41  	     3.3	 372
Rice		 7	.27	77	   32	     1.6	 360
Milk,human	 3.5	.49	 5	  118	     Trace 	 93

Sources. USDA Composition of Foods (Raw, Processed, Prepared) Agricultural Research Service Handbook #8, 1975. National Research Council, 1984. Amaranth, Modern Prospects For An Ancient Crop.

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Garuda International, Inc.

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