Super grain could make a super cookie

According to research by Washington State University (WSU), quinoa has the potential to make a ‘super’ cookie.

In a study published in the Journal of Food Science, WSU researchers found that two types of quinoa, bred specifically to grow in Washington state, had functionality as a potential high-fibre and high-protein additive flour for commercial cookies. This means when baked, the cookies had good ‘spreadability’ and texture.

Preliminary results showed that people preferred sugar cookies with 10% of the quinoa flour over a traditional all-wheat flour cookie; however, taste tests are still underway.

Girish Ganjyal, a WSU food scientist and the study’s corresponding author, said, “It's the Holy Grail for food scientists: we want to develop something that people love to eat and want to go buy and buy again — and now we’re adding some fibre in without them even knowing it.”

Originating in South America, quinoa is popular with health enthusiasts but has yet to develop a strong mainstream presence. The grain contains a host of nutritional benefits: it is high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. It is also gluten-free.

No official counts are available; however, WSU plant breeder Kevin Murphy estimates that quinoa is grown on 5000 acres in the Pacific Northwest and more farmers are interested.

Murphy has been breeding quinoa lines specifically to grow well in the Pacific Northwest climate while maintaining the grain’s nutritional benefits. He is a co-author of the study and has been collaborating with Ganjyal since 2014 on improving ways to popularise the crop.

The study identified one variety of quinoa that works best for grain salads — a more familiar use of the grain — as well as the varieties that worked well in baking cookies.

Food science studies and field trials will assist WSU researchers in deciding which quinoa breeding lines to release to growers in 2023.

The information may also help growers decide which type of quinoa they might plant and how they could sell the harvested crop, Ganjyal said.

In the study, researchers tested 10 different quinoa breeding lines as a flour additive in cookies, from 25% to 100% quinoa flour. Many of the breeding lines were successful at the lower levels, but the cookies tended to crumble as they approached 100% quinoa flour.

Preliminary taste test results showed that using up to 25% quinoa flour tended to have better results. Sugar cookies were chosen for the taste test because they are plain, as opposed to other cookies such as chocolate chip, which could mask flavour from the quinoa.

Elizabeth Nalbandian, the study’s first author and a PhD student in Ganjyal’s lab, said the quinoa might have an advantage for the sugar cookies.

“I think at 10%, quinoa added a type of nutty flavour that people really liked,” she said.

After about 30% substitution, the taste tests were less successful, Nalbandian said, citing a grittier texture as a possible reason. Despite this, she sees potential for quinoa flour in the gluten-free market as many of those baked products can be low in nutritional content.

The researchers will continue developing and testing quinoa food products, and Ganjyal said that Nalbandian is well suited for the work because of her experience in the culinary arts, food science and hospitality and business management.

“This is a chef’s art as well as a science,” he said.

Image caption: WSU food science graduate student Elizabeth Nalbandian places cookies with quinoa flour on a cookie sheet for baking. Photo by Shelly Hanks, WSU Photo Service.