Quinoa—kosher for Passover?

Interesting article in this morning's Montreal Gazette on the status of quinoa for Passover.

Geo

Geo,

The owner of Chicago's Danziger Catering told me that at The Arizona Biltmore, where his company provides foodservice for an extended Passover program, he makes sushi using quinoa rather than rice, which is not eaten by the Ashkenazim, those of European descent.

It's been trickling into mainstream usage over the last 4-5 years. Also makes a passable rice pudding alternative.

I wondered if wild rice, also not a grain, could be considered kosher for Passover. Apparently not. Here's more for any others who, like me, are fascinated with the minutiae of Jewish dietary customs: Kitniot revealed (And then there is the even more arcane tradition of avoiding gebrokts.)

Also, here is a very good, and decidedly unkosher, recipe for quinoa from Chef Bruce Sherman at North Pond: Smoked bacon quinoa.

The wild rice prohibition is even more arcane in that although the original restrictions on eating leaven were limited to 5 grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats and rye it extended to the kitniyot "look-alikes" including grain-like seeds and legumes. So mustard seeds, sesame seeds, peas, rice and wild rice are all prohibited even though they don't necessarily possess any physical properties analogous to the original 5 (c'mon, MUSTARD???). The one added caveat is that they all have some temporal and geographic connection to the origins of the prohibition, so that if mustard and sesame were around in Europe and Northern Africa way back when, they're out. Quinoa, which is of South American origin, gets a bye because it wasn't on the agronomic radar of the day.


You want sense in your religion? Try Scientology.

My family is Ashkenazi, and I have a debate with Mom every year about rice, etc. at Passover. Sometimes she even wants to avoid potatoes (trust me, she is FAR from actually keeping anything remotely resembling Kosher the rest of the year). My argument was that even if you're observant (which I am certainly not), God didn't say "Thou Shalt Follow the Atkins Diet During Passover."

spinynorman99 wrote:The one added caveat is that they all have some temporal and geographic connection to the origins of the prohibition, so that if mustard and sesame were around in Europe and Northern Africa way back when, they're out. Quinoa, which is of South American origin, gets a bye because it wasn't on the agronomic radar of the day.

Yes, but wild rice is strictly North American and it grows in wetlands, unlike any of the prohibited grains. So it seems like wild rice should be in the same category as quinoa. But, of course, whichever rabbi was first called on to make the judgment decided wild rice was like rice, and there it is.

spinynorman99 wrote:You want sense in your religion? Try Scientology.

LOL.

Eva Luna wrote:My family is Ashkenazi, and I have a debate with Mom every year about rice, etc. at Passover. Sometimes she even wants to avoid potatoes

If you read "Kitniot revealed" linked above, you'll see she isn't the first. A lot of people seem to have this idea that Passover is Jewish Lent, and the more you give up the better.

I just received this in my e-mail:

The Women’s Board of the Women’s Division of the Jewish United Fund presents...

Jews and Food: From Kugel to Quinoa
Featuring:

Trisha Margulies, speaking on organic farming and sustainability

Elisheva Margulies, natural foods chef, discussing the modern Jewish Food Movement

Deborah Covington, Associate V.P. Planning & Allocations, addressing how Federation strives to combat poverty and hunger

Thursday, April 29, 2010
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville
772 5th Ave
Naperville, IL 60563
(630) 961-1818

Please join us in helping stock the pantry at the Dina and Eli Field EZRA Multi-Service Center. We will be collecting non-perishable groceries and new hygiene products. Peanut butter, tuna, and other proteins are especially needed. Items do not have to be kosher.
If would like to participate in the bake-off, please email WomensDiv@juf.org

Interesting related blog:

Kitniyot Liberation Front

Interestingly, they were serving quinoa for passover at the Kosher station at the new South Campus dining facility at the University of Chicago today. I should probably post about this new dining facility separately at some point. It is open to the public and is all-you-can eat, with prices $6 at breakfast, $8 at lunch, and $10 at dinner. Lunch is particularly good, and occasionally one of the better cooks there is really allowed to branch out: one standout was grilled duck breast with a sour cherry reduction sauce accompanied by chipotle couscous. This isn't your father's dining hall! It's located off a pedestrian plaza in the 6000 block of south Ellis. Exact address is 6025 S. Ellis.