Chia seed

Graine de chia

What it is

Chia was an Aztec tribute crop alongside maize, beans and amaranth, and Chiapas takes its name from it — chian is the Nahuatl word for the seed. The Spanish suppressed the crop for its part in temple offerings, and it stayed a regional Mexican drink until the 1990s.

In the kitchen

One part seed to six of liquid by weight sets a spoonable gel in about twenty minutes. Whisk again at five minutes or the seeds sink and set as a single lump under a layer of loose liquid — that is the only way this goes wrong.

Goes with

Lime Coconut milk Honey Mango Yogurt Vanilla Raspberry Maple syrup

Same species

Clary sage Rosemary Sage

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