I’ve grown amaranth many times. My first suggestion is to check if it’s growing wild around you already. The domesticated varieties will cross with the wild ones very easily.
All the amaranths I’ve tried had leaves that tasted like spinach. I don’t like the taste of spinach, so I can’t tell you how the eating quality compares. But, if you get a grain type, you’ll get the greens as well. The inverse is not always true. The ones bred for grain production tend to have bigger (relatively speaking), more tender seeds, and more of them. You can still eat the grain from leaf-types and from wild amaranth, but the seeds will be smaller, harder, and have less yield per plant. I’m told that some even have a bitter taste, although I haven’t encountered that.
There used to be a company called “Bountiful Gardens”, that had an incredible collection of heirloom grains, including amaranth. The company closed, but some of their varieties were picked up by other companies. Looks like Quailseeds.com, Adaptive Seeds, and Southern Exposure got the best of them.
Thanks for the advice.
I’ll look into it.
The seed catalogues don’t have a lot about the grain aspect of the amaranth. Mostly on the edible leaves and the flowers for cut flower arrangements.