Is Quinoa Dead?

The other afternoon, like all afternoons, I was strategizing dinner with my roommate who, let it be said, does not work in the food biz. Roasted vegetables and some sort of sauce, yes, but what would the bulk of our meal be?

“Well we have quinoa,” she said. And then we categorically dismissed it. No questions asked, no objections raised.

We decided on farro—more substantial, more toothsome (I hate that word, but it seems well suited here), more sure of itself. (I’m exhausted by having to explain that quinoa is a seed even though it’s grouped with the grains. Can’t we just agree on a term and stick with it?)

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When I got to Whole Foods, the only available farro was $7.99 for about two dry cups, with no bulk bin option available. “Who do you think I am, Whole Foods?” I said to the Grocery Gods/no one in particular.

And so, we resigned ourselves to quinoa, a half-empty bag of which was sulking in the pantry. It was fine; it was fluffy; dinner was good.

But what did our quick rejection of quinoa indicate? Were we both thinking, “Quinoa is so five years ago”? Were we immune to its charms, having seen it on seemingly every restaurant menu ever since even before the U.N. dedicated an entire year to it? And hello, there’s even a McCafé serving kale and quinoa salads in Toronto.

I’d like to think that my waning interest in quinoa is not because its competitors are being heavily marketed to me (though that very well may be the case), but because I truly prefer other grains (or seeds, or whatever). Quinoa aspires to be fluffy and light, but I don’t want to float away on my grains (or seeds, or whatever). I don’t want them to be airy.

For my everyday consumption, I’m looking for something that’s hearty and robust and not inclined to water-log. I understand that quinoa has a time and a place and a million and one uses, but it’s no longer my go-to grain/seed.

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And that may be true not only in my small household, but also in the world at at large.

Looking at the Google Trend below, you can see that, while searches for quinoa are on the rise and spike every January, the rate at which the searches are increasing is slowing down. Interest in quinoa, if still high, seems to be plateauing. The hills and valleys for 2014 and 2015 look pretty similar.

Perhaps the market for quinoa is saturated. The people who know about quinoa and can afford to buy it are doing so.

Or maybe other ancient grains—the trendier, lesser-known varieties, the Brooklynites to quinoa’s Manhattan—are gaining traction. Two years ago, I’d never heard of farro, or freekeh, kamut, sorghum, millet, or teff. I still haven’t tasted einkorn or amaranth. Are any of these poised to be the next big thing quinoa? And when can I expect to be sick of that, too?

For now, I’m happy with farro. And wheatberries. Hey, I still like couscous (even if it is just pasta in disguise). But quinoa? I just need a little break.

If you need a little break too:

What’s your go-to grain (or seed)? Tell us in the comments below.