I read somewhere that popped amaranth was a great alternative to popcorn. I'd like to debunk that. Amaranth is so small you have to eat it with a spoon, it's just not the same, in terms of a snack. That said, I've been really wanting to pop amaranth for awhile, but also read not to do it in a popcorn air popper (which is what I have and use) because it would either: a) fly out of the popper quickly and make a mess in your kitchen, or b) fall through the screen at the bottom and start a fire. Both were not attractive options. So, the little bag of amaranth I bought at Mother's Market, my local healthy grocery store, remained unused.
Until now.
Behold, from left to right: unpopped amaranth, popped amaranth, and overly popped/toasted amaranth. The latter was the first batch and I was afraid it was burnt, but upon tasting, it was fine so I added it to the lighter-colored popped grain.
What worked best for me was a hot pot, then throwing in two teaspoons of the amaranth, covering and shaking away from the heat until it finished popping, and dumping it out, to start again. It didn't hurt that the pot had a copper bottom. I tasted some of it tonight and it's not bad. A little grassy or green in flavor, but it's puffed, it's tiny, and I'm going to try it tomorrow as part of breakfast. If I figure out a few more things, I may start trying to make my own energy/snack bars. I love those KIND bars, but I can't justify the price.
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