- Amaranth has always had a place near and dear to my heart. Years ago, I heard about amaranth, the grain that had once been a staple in the diets of pre-Columbian Aztecs. I had learned that with the arrival of Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors, all crops of amaranth were burned, its use was forbidden, and its possession was cause for severe punishment. I set out to find this lost grain, to hopefully discover this treasure that lay at the heart of this incredibly powerful people.After 300 years
