Amaranth

There has been a renewed interest in recent years in the use of amaranth for human consumption. Amaranth can be used as a grain or as a vegetable. The grain is high in protein (approximately16%), with nearly twice the lysine content of wheat. It is used for breakfast cereals, as gruel, or as a cooking ingredient. It is often milled into flour for baking, or blended with other flours to increase the protein quality. The leaves of some amaranth species are cooked for use as a vegetable.