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Is Quinoa Kosher for Pessach for Ashkenzim?
Yes. See the Star-K article at:
Some say yes, and some say no.
Mind you, we are talking about whether it is kitniyos. No one holds its hametz. Everyone who allows it would hold it needs a hecksher since it is often processed together with grains.
The argument “for” it being non-kitniyos include it isn’t from the same botanical family as grains (but neither beans), and that it is a new world crop (but so is corn).
The argument “against”, meaning for holding it to be kitniyos, include that the raw food is very grain like and that it can be baked into bread (check online to find recipes), and that the South Americans who developed the crop consider it to be a grain.
So ask you personal posek.
Potatoes can also be baked into bread.
The O-U and Star-K permit it
“Potatoes can also be baked into bread.”
Quiet!!!! If the chumra of the month club finds out, they will ban potatoes, too!
jewishfeminist02: A potato does not resemble a grain, whereas raw quinoa does. Also the way in which quinoa is eaten is similar to that of the traditional grains, unlike a potato. Indeed, quinoa is in most ways more “grain like” in appearance and use than Maize (American corn). So once you hold the quinoa is non-kitniyos, you are left asking whether Maize (American corn) should also be considered kitniyos. This means the real question is really whether we should even hold by a prohibtion of kitniyos since if you start making quinoa bread on Pesach, where do you stop.
But again, this is a question to be decided over time by the gedolim. It took a while for them to settle on what to do with potatos and maize (American corn) when they were introduced to frum Jews in the 16th century.
I discussed this issue with my posek who said that there are those who permit Quinoa and those that do not. He said that if you have a health reason for eating quinoa, you have reliable poskim to rely upon. BUT he said that it would be better to be machmir and not eat.
I hope the Mods let this link go through, its from the ou website
My parents got very, very mad at me when I said that I thought quinoa was Assur because it’s Kitniyos.
My father says it’s okay, though, so the house has quinoa and I avoid those dishes.
Sam, why do you think it’s assur?
DY: Long story short, there are two Dinim in Kitniyos brought down in the Rama. One is that it is something that you can make flour out of. The other is that it grows in fields close to Chametz grains and we are concerned for cross-contamination. I think that we can add things to the G’zeirah nowadays where there is a cross-contamination concern and that putting a Hechsher on it telling us there was no cross-contamination by this batch wouldn’t help.
Yes quinoa is kosher for Pesach, but needs supervision. It is not kiyniyos. Even the OU has accepted it. As to the entire kitniyos issue – I am Ashkenaz and therefore do not eat Kitniyos, but I am frustrated at the chumrah that the Ashkenazic Rabbanim added to what is already assur as chametz. Hashem didn’t say, “If it resembles chametz, it’s assur on Pesach,” (if so, all the Pesachdig crepes and lukshen would be assur). He said there are five grains that could become chametz and they are assur. Why did our chachomim add to the burden by assering certain yellow and green vegetables, not to mention rice, which does not even grow in the ground, just because those vegetables can be ground up to resemble flour? So can potatoes for that matter, be made into flour (actually, the rabbanim WANTED to asser potatoes, but they would have had a major rebellion on their hands, as it was such a cheap staple of all Jewish homes).
I follow the halacha and minhag Ashkenazim, but I have never understood the rationale for this issur. To say something grows near a potential source of chametz – that I can understand. But if the item is kept totally clear of wheat fields, etc., what’s the difference if it looks like a grain before it’s cooked? It’s NOT one of the five assur grains!!!!! And quinoa is a great source of excellent protein, too.
BTW, off-topic, does anyone have good kugel or cake recipes for Pesach that are not made with nuts or eggs? I am going crazy trying to make a starchy side dish besides farfel.
Hi oomis.
What does “Even the OU accepted…” mean? Yes the OU accepted it. That doesn’t mean every Possek says it’s ok.
I also don’t understand your “frustration” with the chumros of Ashkenazic Rabbanim. Do you think your string of exclamation marks will make them understand something they missed regarding chameishes minei dagan?
Pesach is not the only area where we follow the directions of our Chachamim, palatable or unpalatable as they may be. The issue of Chametz is one area in particular where many feel the need to be stringent (even though in other areas they would be more inclined to take a middle path or to be lenient.) Some people connect this to the fact that Chametz alludes to the Yetzer hara. I don’t pretend to understand that totally. I do know that any chumros accepted in the house my husband grew up in, are now part of my Pesach kitchen.
And if my husband liked quinoa, (which he does not) I’d call our Rav.
The issue of Chametz is one area in particular where many feel the need to be stringent
That’s fine, but kitniyot is not chametz, and in many cases, does not resemble chometz, and in many cases can’t be ground up and made into bread. Tell me how green beans and peas can be ground up and used.
And as long as we’re trying to come up with explinations, someone tell me why peanut oil was fine when I was a youngster, but can’t be used now? (We ate peanuts on Pesach growing up; I eat them now on Pesach as well. If they weren’t kitniyot then, they didn’t suddenly and magically change status.)
Quinoa, which, though spelled the way it is in the dictionary should be spelled differently, is very bitter unless it is washed. This means you have to wash it, which is also a protection against chametz.
Lets be clear here, It is not a Kula or a B’Deved to eat it. It is Kosher. If you wish not to eat that is a Chumra. And the O-U unlike most Rabbanim actually went to Ecuador and Boliva to see the farms, did the research on the plant and how it is grown. You ask an expert on something, Someone who knows what it actually is . Personally I am not going to eat it because I dont like it, Its kind of bland, But enjoy your Quinoa if you want
Even the OU accepted…” mean? Yes the OU accepted it”
What I meant was that until recently the OU did NOT accept it and they were very much against its use on Pesach. But now, even the OU has accepted that quinoa is NOT kitniyos OR chametz mamash.
I also don’t understand your “frustration” with the chumros of Ashkenazic Rabbanim. Do you think your string of exclamation marks will make them understand something they missed regarding chameishes minei dagan?”
Golfer, my frustration with this is that our chachomim saw fit to asser something muttar for reasons that make no sense to me, though I unquestionably accept that their p’sak must be followed. It is particularly difficult for me this year, in light of what I mentioned about my young ainekel who is allergic to all nuts, seeds, and eggs, or products containing even trace amounts. The only things he likes to eat that are permissible to him, are items that I cannot have in my home for Pesach, such as rice,peas, and corn. He doesn’t even like potatoes.
My earlier point btw was that potatoes also produce a flour that MAMESH looks like real flour at first, but the chachomim who originally DID want to asser it for Pesach, immediately changed their minds when they realized what a hornet’s nest they were about to stir up.
Our Gedolim knew then and know now what is chametz and what is not. But they assered stuff that even HaKadosh Boruch Hu did not asser or imply was like chametz. And that frustrates me at times in many areas of Halacha, to which we nonetheless adhere, whether we understand it or not, because that is what we are enjoined to do.
Corn, peas, and rice, have little to do with the Yetzer Hara, though chametz itself which comes from grains being “puffed up” absolutely is a great mashal for that. So I like what you mentioned about that.
Quinoa is accepted today by virtually everyone. Those who actually made the effort to inspect what it is, decided that it is not kitniyos, and if grown separately from wheat fields, has no chashash of being intermingled with grains. Ancient Harvest is a reliable Quinoa packaging company.
As aside to the person who does not like the taste because it is too bland – mix a packet of onion soup mix into the cooking water for it, saute diced onions and mushrooms (if you use them on Pesach), and add to the cooked quinoa. DELICIOUS. And I was NOT a fan, at first.
I understand that last year the OU didn’t approve it because Rabbi Belsky considered it kitnios. Did Rabbi Belsky chgange his position on quinaoa?
I have not heard anything about Rav Belsky. I read something about a R’ Rabinowitz in the OU. Go on-line to the OU Passover Guide and read up on this.
I’m not sure Rabbi Belsky still works at the OU.
“Quinoa is accepted today by virtually everyone”
First, the universe of “virtually everyone” is limited to those who hold there is a problem with kitniyos to begin with. If you have no problem with eating rice or maize (what Americans call “corn”), then you have no problem with quinoa – but you aren’t part of the “virtually everyone”. If you don’t hold that there is a problem with rice or corn, you aren’t even part of this discussion.
Of those who hold there is a prohibition of kitniyos, the dispute is whether quinoa is kitniyos. It’s way to early say that “virtually everyone” agrees, since it is still a dispute. I suspect that with OU and Star-K saying its not kitniyos, we’ll start to see packaging say “quinoa-free” just as we see packages saying “non-gebroks”, and that for the most part those who don’t allow matza meal won’t accept quinoa. I’m sure it took a while for a consensus to be reached that potatos were okay but maize (American corn) were kitniyos – both were introduced into Jewish cuisine only a few centuries ago (yesterday by our standards).
Remember that as a rule, something is “your humrah” but is “my hiddur mitsva”.
Oomis, if your grandson has medical issues with food, has anyone spoken to a Rav to possibly get a heter for him to eat kitniyot?
Not to say anything about quinoa specifically, but as is well known, the sephardim frequently engage in elaborate rituals to ensure that their rice is chometz-free. Stories abound about women sitting around a table all day, checking batch after batch of rice three times each. Obviously, the issue of cross-contamination is real for certain grains. That the sephardim elected to deal with the issue through rigorous personal checking, and ashkenazim elected to deal with it through avoidance, is immaterial. Someone who elects to deal with it by pretending that there’s no problem at all (with problematic grains) doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
Quinoa is more like spinach or Beets than Beans or rice. Anyone who claims its Kitniyot did not study the Biology and basically relied on well my Bubbie and Zadie didnt eat it, so I wont eat it
“Potatoes can also be baked into bread.”
Quiet!!!! If the matir asurim of the month club finds out, they will permit bread, too!
Because otherwise the bread will feel that it was provided the same opportunities.
zahavasdad: The people’s in the Andes considered it a grain and used it in a grain-like manner. Not so much as beets or spinach, but much like rice or maize (which we do consider to be kitniyos).
If you allow quinoa, it will have to come up with a justification to ban rice and maize (American corn). Thus the “bottom line” of the dispute is going to end up being not whether quinoa is kitniyos, but whether rice and maize are, and ultimately, should the prohibition of kitniyos be honored.
Based on biology and what Bubbie and Zaidie ate (okay, your ancestors prior to the 16th century), maize (American corn) should be permitted. So the dispute of quinoa is really more a fundamental debate on kitniyos in general.
“Not to say anything about quinoa specifically, but as is well known, the sephardim frequently engage in elaborate rituals to ensure that their rice is chometz-free. “
It seems to me that quinoa should also be checked 3 times, the same way Sephardim check rice. There are types of rice that KFP for Sephardim (see JSOR guide to Pesah), but that only means that chametz products were not added to the rice. The rice still needs to be checked. Same thing here.
Dont be fooled, its really just rebranded bird seed.
Ajuperma: Two things keep me from eating corn on the cob. Most corn today is GMO. Second, in EY corn on the cob is a chashash matzui for bugs. So that particular taanug is off limits for Pesach, as for the the rest of the year.
We cannot add onto the original g’zeiras which chazal instituted hundreds of years ago and is now a minhag to askenazik Jews. That is why Reb Moshe held that peanuts were not kitniyos, nor is potato starch; both unknown to the askenazik poskim during the kitniyos g’zeira era. And that is why poskim don’t proclaim additional chumras on the kitnios g’zeira and ban quinoa because afterall it’s Pesach.
But American corn is newish. And quinoa is weird because birds don’t eat it.
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Oomis, if your grandson has medical issues with food, has anyone spoken to a Rav to possibly get a heter for him to eat kitniyot? “
Takamamesh, I am pretty sure they know they could ask, but they don’t want to make Pesach even more challenging for us than it already is during the rest of the year. I would need separate places to refrigerate the kitniyos, a separate pot to cook it in, remember to NOT taste what I am cooking…etc. We just have to find other things he can and will eat.
Birds don’t eat quinoa. They will eat almost any other grain, but not quinoa.
Cherrybim: Chazal didn’t institute Kitniyos. Also, the apparent Minhag (of the Kashrus organizations, at least) is to Asser peanuts, not like R’ Moshe.
If you don’t hold by kitniyuos to begin with, you aren’t part of the discussion. For you, quinoia, maize (corn), rice and beans are all acceptable on Pesach. The debate isn’t whether one may eat quinoa per se (since it clearly is not hametz), or whether one may eat kitniyos (that’s a different issue), but whether qinoia is kitniyos?
cherrybim: If being “new” is the deciding factor, do you eat maize (American corn) which also was introduced to Jews after the initial bans on kitniyos.
oomis, yes, you would have to remember not to taste it, but I’m pretty sure that it would not need to be cooked in a separate pot or stored in a separate container/section of the fridge (obviously this is not a psak; check with your rav). After all, kitniyos do not “contaminate” the way chametz does. One is permitted to own kitniyos on Pesach, just not to eat it– and Ashkenazim can eat non-kitniyos food at Sephardi tables, where the food was prepared in the same kitchen and with the same equipment.
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