Processing lamb’s quarters seeds into wild grain

Have you ever wondered how to process lamb’s quarters or goosefoot seeds (Chenopodium species) into an edible grain? Sure, you can eat small amounts without processing, but if you want to make a bulk grain or eat it regularly, you’ll want to remove the indigestible dry plant material (chaff), as well as the soapy compounds (saponins) that can irritate the digestive tract. Here’s how I do it:

Harvesting

Collect seeds when the plants turn brown, dry, and brittle and their tiny fruits release easily. Strip seeds and chaff into a container by running a gripped hand along the branches. You may appreciate gloves. Lay your harvest out for a few days to weeks or run it in a dehydrator to make sure it dries out completely. It can be stored for several years.

Parching

Parching uses dry heat to desiccate the material so the chaff is easier to remove. If there are broken stem bits in your harvest, sift them out with a colander first. Then parch (toast) the material in a pan, heating and stirring until the seeds start popping and smoke slightly. Remove from the heat and rub, ideally while still warm.

Rubbing

Rubbing separates the chaff from the seeds. You can rub the material between your hands, against the side of a sieve, or between pieces of food-grade silicone—but dancing is by far the quickest and most effective method. Wear shoes that lack treads, and jog on the material while twisting your feet. I do this in a laundry tub. Do it outdoors or wear a mask because the chaff can irritate nostrils and throat.

Winnowing

Winnowing separates the seeds from the freed chaff. I prefer basket-winnowing, for which you need a flat, tightly woven basket or tray with gently sloping sides. I do a series of quick down-snaps to send the material airborne, then catch the seeds while the chaff is carried away, either by wind or air current from the moving basket. Repeat this several times, until you don’t see much chaff. It takes practice, and you may lose seeds while learning. I use a fair-trade basket made by the Tuareg (Imuhagh) people of Burkina Faso. Alternatively, pour seeds from vessel to vessel in a steady wind, or sift the chaff out through a metal sieve with small holes.

Washing

Soak your seeds 12-24 hours, then drain and rub them well. I like to do this against the side of a metal sieve set in a bowl to see how much the catch water foams up when I rinse them. Rub and rinse 1-7 times until few suds remain. Some seeds are soapier than others. Once finished, dump the lot in the bowl, fill with water, and carefully decant (pour off) seed coats and micro-chaff, repeating as necessary.

Eating

Boil whole grains for 15-20 minutes until crunchy-soft and serve as hot cereal or combine with other cooked grains. I like boiled goosefoot in snack bars and crackers, to which it adds a pleasing crunch. You can also dry and grind seeds into flour. Combine this flour with liquid, simmer, and sweeten to make porridge. For baked goods or pancakes, use a binder like xanthan gum, psyllium husk, or mashed fruit or root vegetables. You can also mix equal parts seed flour and wheat flour to form a pliable dough.

Notes: The seeds of all Chenopodium species can be used similarly. There are two common, similar-looking species–the non-native Chenopodium album, and the native Chenopodium berlandieri–you are most likely to encounter. In my experience, seeds of C. album are smaller but less soapy and require less rinsing. I like the texture of C. berlandieri best, but it’s more work. The top two photos are C. berlandieri. Harvested material of C. album may be more brown and black versus the pinkish material pictured above. The grains in the snack bar photo include C. berlandieri and the larger seeds of maple-leaf goosefoot (C. simplex syn. C. hybridum syn. C. gigantospermum). OMG that was a lot of synonyms. My husband, Gregg Davis, took all the pictures of my hands.