Pupil turns school-leaving dissertation on quinoa into hot-selling book

Graciela Spörry knew as long as five years ago what her school-leaving dissertation was to be about, namely quinoa, a grain crop of the Amaranthaceae family from South America, grown for its edible and nourishing seeds.
 
The cover of the Cantonal School pupil's book shows four tablespoons full of black, white, red or multi-coloured seeds and is entitled “Quinoa - The Allrounder”. Inside are 27 recipes arranged according to whether they are low calorie, high protein or gourmet.
 
On the first page, it says in Spanish “Lo dedico a mis antepasados,” a dedication to Spörry’s ancestors. When asked by the journalist who wrote this article whom she meant, she replied proudly, “The Incas” in reference to her Peruvian forefathers. Brought up speaking a number of different languages, it is not surprising the 18-year-old has given her recipes creative titles, such as Pink Lady, Cazador and Crème de la Crème.
 
It is not surprising, either, that Spörry is very much interested in healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, hence she is only too pleased that this spinach-related plant has become much more widely known of late. The young expert mentioned how quinoa was very much a “superfood”, containing a lot of nutrients, active agents and other vital substances. For example, it contains many vegetable proteins (12-20% in fact), all eight essential amino acids, little fat, no cholesterol, much roughage, many group B vitamins and important minerals, Furthermore, as it is gluten-free it makes an ideal alternative to noodles, cereal foods and bread for people who suffer from coeliac disease. It also goes very well with other healthy foods such as kale, pumpkin, grapefruit, spinach, walnut, avocado, salmon, ginger, pomegranate or cranberries.
 
Adding a scientific element to her book, Spörry has indicated the precise nutritional value, including number of calories in addition to what its protein, carbohydrate and fat content is, to each recipe.
 
Once she had decided which recipes to include, Spörry spent her entire autumn holidays trying all 27 of them out and then having them photographed for the book by Lucy Mason, a friend of hers from primary school days, cheating only in using an alternative to milk to make them look better, and only too aware of how a strategically place drop of water can enhance the appearance of a herb or vegetable.
 
Since her book came out, so many have been sold it is now out of print already with more having to be produced. Now she is considering how to market them all on a far bigger scale, too.