Is Amaranthus Edible?

zoegurl2001

18 years ago

I have recently acquired some "Joseph's Coat" Amaranthus, and it seems like I heard something about these being edible? Has anyone ever tried eating them? And if so, how do you prepare them? (Cooked or raw, etc.) Just wondering if these would make a nice, more unusual addition to my veggie garden next year. Thanks in advance guys!

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Comments (4)

ltcollins1949
18 years ago
It can be used in many ways. Check out Amaranthus.
marshallz10
18 years ago
All amaranths and related pigweeds are edible when young as a spinach substitute. Some cultivated varieties have been developed to produce edible leaves for the life of the plant while other varieties are "grain" producers. Then, of course, there are ornamental ones.

Amaranthus tends to self-seed if you allow the plant to grow through the seeding stage. At my market farm we allow some of these volunteers to co-exist with our crops because they are pretty, serve to attract birds, and can be fed to the chickens at any time.
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Interesting. I have eaten amaranth both the cultivated Asian ones and the wild ones. If they were poisonous I would be dead 100 times over. The "cultivated ones " are the ones you can buy seeds in the seed catalog Asian section. Normally leaves are light green, green with maroon veins or now they have a maroon/purple leafy one. Planted that last summer and very tender when young. The wild one is the one referred to here as a weed aka pigweed (although I do not agree with the description. A weed is a plant out of place, so anything in the right environment can be a weed if it does not belong there at that time).Anyway perfectly healthy to eat. Only draw back is that the wild one has a more earthy taste compared to the cultivated Asian varieties. The leaves also might have small hairs so raw eating does not sound appetizing but sauteed they are pretty good.
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Raymondo
18 years ago
When I looked at this post, I thought my mind was going. Then I remembered I'd posted to it on the veggie forum. A briefer version of what I wrote there - 'Joseph's Coat', Amaranthus tricolor, is also known as Chinese spinach, Een choi etc. and is a very popular green in Asia.
seatofmypants99
18 years ago
I eat mine, but it's very bitter when it gets older.

Is Amaranthus Edible?

Comments (4)

ltcollins1949

marshallz10

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