I'm not sure whether this is Amaranthus cruentus or A. hypochondriacus, since I no longer have the seed packet from two years ago. It re-seeded itself, and it grows well in the really poor soil on the south side of my house. It gets so big that it collapses in the fall, so next year I think I'm going to grow it along the chain link fence, where I can inconspicuously tie it up.Killerplants.com has nice introduction to amaranth called "Why Were Amaranths Forbidden?"
I found a link to some interesting amaranth grain recipes - sadly, the only thing I've actually made from harvested & "popped" grain is a kind of rice-krispie treat-like confection.
1 comment:
It's odd that the author of "Why were amaranths forbidden" chooses to describe it thus:
"(the conquistadors) saw the ceremony as horrible. Eating the bodies of their gods was barbaric and nothing more than ritualistic cannibalism."
I have no doubt that the plants were forbidden for religious reasons, but by phrasing it that way, how could ANY reader not think to themselves, 'gosh, that sounds just exactly like what Christians do on Sunday mornings with the body of Christ'?
-Suzie
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