6

I was boiling quinoa the other day and I noticed that, when I dumped them in a pot of water, a minority of seeds (maybe 10%) floated and the rest sank. Why do some stay afloat?

amphibient
  • 2,869
  • 15
  • 42
  • 54

1 Answers1

4

Air pockets.

It's why wormy beans/grains will also float - the surface tension of the water prevents it from entering into small crevices.

If you have cracks or holes in the grains that contain air, the whole ensemble will less dense than the surrounding water and will therefore float.

Isaac Kotlicky
  • 201
  • 1
  • 2