I use a lot quinoa at home. I don't mind the unique smell of it. One thing I do for sure is to wash the quinoa before cooking it. Some quinoa comes unwashed so it has very bitter taste and the smell is awful. If after washing the smell still lingers, I would try soaking the grains overnight in water with small amount of acid i.e. lemon juice or whey. Qunioa is a very healthy grain. I hope you can overcome the smelly problem. :-)

Al

Wow, I've never noticed the smell. I like quinoa, although the texture puts me off a bit, it's so tiny it's kind of like little gravelly bits.

I always rinse mine and I eat it by itself, without dressing usually. I do sometimes toss it with nuts, dried cranberries, whatever is on hand to give it more texture than just those little bits.

I've never noticed a smell, but I've never used quinoa that hasn't said "pre-washed" or "washed" on the label and I always rinse it again anyway. I'll be watching this to see if there are solutions because as soon as I say I didn't notice the smell, you know I'm going to!

Annie

Could you cook it in a broth rather than water. Something that complements the dish you're making?

Deanna

Try putting a bay leaf in it while it cooks. Growing up in Maine, everyone I know always puts a bay leaf in the pot when steaming lobsters or clams at home to neutralize the smell - it might work for quinoa too.

Alexa

Annie, the first quinoa package I bought was pre-washed. But I remember somone on this forum warning about the need to rinse it before using. So I went ahead and rinsed it thoroughly. Then after draining well, I even sauteed it in a bit of butter before adding chicken broth. All was fine until about half way through the cooking when that strange smell emerged.

I thought maybe it was the pre-risned brand that was at fault. So I bought some at Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago. I picked up a delicious salad yesterday at my local supermarket's deli and decided to give it a try again. This morning I made sure I rinsed it thoroughly and cooked it without any flavoring. Sure enough, half way through the cooking, I smelled it again.

Maybe it's just somehing my nose is super sensitive to. I've got it cooling in the fridge and later I'll toss it with some garlic/basil dressing, green onions, sun dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, & feta. That should make it taste good. And I'm hoping the chilling will diminish the smell. But I'm afraid I'll never be able to use it as a warm side dish.

Wow...never heard this complaint before about quinoa. Can you describe the smell or what about it you find so offensive? I'm trying to summon the smell in my memory but can't, so I guess it's not an issue for me.

You might try dropping some garlic gloves in with it while it cooks.

Glad you like the taste so it isn't completely off your menu.

Well, the chilled quinoa smelled vile to me too. The only thing that made the smell go away finally was marinating it for at least an hour with a dressing that had equal parts balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and two cloves of crushed garlic. However, I can make that kind of chlled salad dish with whole wheat couscous or bulgar wheat without being nauseated by an offensive smell.

It's a lost cause to me. I simply can't stand working with the stuff. This will be my last attempt. From now on, I'll just order it at a restaurant or pick it up at my grocer's deli.

I can't stand the stuff in any forum, with any senses, so you aren't alone. but at least you found a source that you do like. Life's too short to force yourself to eat things you don't like, regardless of how trendy it is, or how healthy it is for you!

Ok, Shambo, now you've done it. You KNOW I'm going to smell that quinoa next time I make it!

Annie

Slightly off-topic but still related...

I've been trying to avoid wheat, but I crave pasta. I saw a Top Chef Masters show where they made pasta with quinoa noodles. I saw a box at Whole Foods and bought it. The ingredients are quinoa flour and corn flour.

It's REALLY good. It has the same taste and texture of wheat pasta but much healthier and gluten-free. And no weird smell. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Quinoa pasta

I'm so sorry, Annie! I really thought everyone else smelled it and wasn't bothered by it. I'm just glad to learn that islay & sushipup understand what I'm talking about. I didn't want to be completely insane!

But, Annie, I'm with you on bananas. I simply can't deal with ripe bananas -- the smell, the texture, & the taste. That's why I don't care much for banana bread. And I cringe at the thought of banana smoothies, banana muffins, cakes, or cookies. But I don't mind eating a slightly underripe banana, when the sugars are not fully developed and there's still a bit of tartness to it. Weird, huh? We each have our peculiarities, that's for sure.