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Originally Posted by HotWings
I am curious about quinoa - I have seen it and thought it looked like it might taste pretty good. What is the taste comparison to something like brown rice? I'm all for some variety!
Brown rice tastes "nutty." Quinoa also tastes "nutty," but in a slightly different way. If you don't rinse quinoa well, it can taste a bit soapy, so I always rinse it in a couple changes of water (often this is already done for you, especially if you're buying pre-boxed packages - but when in doubt always rinse).
There is a flavor difference between brown rice and quinoa, but it's hard to explain. I want to say brown rice tastes like brown rice and quinoa tastes like quinoa. I think it's a bit like trying to describe the difference between a blackberry and a raspberry. There are enough similarities that a person who likes one, very likely will like the other, but yet they each taste like themselves.
I think the biggest difference is in texture, though that's subtle too. The grains are tinier, and the texture is like a cross between rice and couscous.
My very picky husband (who doesn't like brown rice very much), likes quinoa, especially when I use it to replace the rice in "fried rice."