Quinoa

One US cup of quinoa weighs 170 grams. Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.59 cups.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a small seed from a plant native to the Andean highlands, related botanically to spinach and beets rather than to true cereals. Because it cooks and eats like a grain but is not a grass, it is classified as a pseudo-cereal. It has become one of the most heavily marketed ancient grains in Western supermarkets since the early 2000s, driven by its complete amino acid profile (all essential amino acids present in useful proportions, unusual for a plant food) and its natural gluten-free status.

USDA FoodData Central publishes 1 cup of dry uncooked quinoa at 170 grams (FDC 168874, Quinoa, uncooked). That gives a bulk density of 0.7185 grams per millilitre. King Arthur's ingredient weight chart publishes the same product at 177 grams per cup and 0.7481 grams per millilitre. The two figures agree within 4 percent, well inside the 10 percent tolerance we apply to the milled category.

Quinoa comes in three main colours: white (the most common, sometimes labelled ivory or tan), red, and black. All three are the same species and measure the same by cup within the accuracy of these figures. Tri-color blends sold in supermarkets are simply mixed. Cooking behaviour and flavour differ slightly — red and black quinoa hold their shape better and have a nuttier, earthier flavour, while white cooks softer — but the dry cup weight is the same.

Cooked quinoa is a completely different measurement. The dry seeds absorb approximately three times their weight in water during cooking (1 cup dry becomes 3 cups cooked), so the cup weight of cooked quinoa is much lower per gram of original seed. King Arthur publishes cooked quinoa at 184 grams per cup, and USDA has a separate entry for cooked quinoa at approximately 185 grams per cup — both reflecting the swollen, hydrated seed with water incorporated. A recipe calling for '1 cup quinoa' almost always means dry uncooked; a recipe calling for '1 cup cooked quinoa' means the fully hydrated product.

Quinoa flour is milled quinoa seeds ground to a fine powder, used in gluten-free baking. King Arthur publishes it at 110 grams per cup, notably lower than the whole seeds because the milling process incorporates air and produces a lighter powder. It is a separate entry that will be added when time permits.

Before cooking, most commercial quinoa should be rinsed to remove saponins — bitter, soapy-tasting compounds in the seed coat that evolved to deter birds. Modern quinoa sold in the United States and Europe is typically pre-rinsed at the processing plant, and the packaging usually states this. If the package does not state pre-rinsed, rinse in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water for 30 seconds before cooking.

Related products this entry does not cover: quinoa flakes (rolled quinoa, similar to rolled oats, weighs about 90 grams per cup), quinoa flour (110 grams per cup per King Arthur), puffed quinoa (very light, about 15 grams per cup), and cooked quinoa (185 grams per cup, essentially the same seed with water).

Codex Alimentarius standard CXS 333-2019 covers quinoa as a specific grain, defining moisture, foreign matter, and defect limits for international trade. FDA does not have a US identity standard for quinoa; it is regulated under general food safety rules. Neither publishes a bulk density.

The category here is 'milled' because whole quinoa seeds pack similarly to milled powders in a measuring cup — small enough to conform to the container shape, and their bulk density depends slightly on scoop method. The 10 percent tolerance applies. Both sources sit inside it.