Buckwheat

Buckwheat is a small shrub that grows a seed known by the same name. Although it is not a grain or a cereal and is no relation to wheat, buckwheat seeds are usually used in many of the same ways that a grain would be used. It is therefore often classified as a whole grain for culinary purposes. Buckwheat is one of the earliest crops to have been cultivated intentionally and has been used by humans for more than seven thousand years. The plants are relatively easy to grow and help farmers with crop rotation. Buckwheat flowers provide nectar for honeybees, often in a season when flowers are scarce. The seeds, which are called groats, are versatile and nutritious.

Background

The buckwheat plant is botanically known as Fagopyrum esculentum. Its common name, buckwheat, appears to have derived from the Dutch word for beech, boek. The triangular-shaped buckwheat groats resemble the seeds of the beech tree and are used in many of the same ways as wheat, which prompted the Dutch to name them boekweit; this was Anglicized to the word "buckwheat."

Experts believe that buckwheat was first grown intentionally in Asia around the sixth century BCE. By 4000 BCE, it had made its way to Europe; it was most likely carried by traders or invaders via Asia and the Middle East. Here, it became a dietary staple and a key ingredient in many recipes for dishes such as porridge, pancakes, and breads. From there, European colonists brought it to North America, where it initially became more predominant in southern cooking but later spread throughout the continent.

Buckwheat likely spread so far and wide for several reasons. The plant grows quickly and easily and can be sowed as late as mid-June in most temperate regions. It also grows well in depleted soil, so it can be planted after another crop has been harvested; this is what farmers call a "smother" crop. Smother crops keep weeds down and help retain the soil on land that needs to rest, or lie fallow, between plantings of another crop. Buckwheat can be grown after a spring crop and once it is harvested, plowed back under as what is known as "green manure" to help restore the soil. Alternately, the plant can be cut down and dried for use as animal feed. The seeds produced by the plant are also used as an oat replacement in some animal feeds.

Since buckwheat's growing season is between June and September, the plant also helps to support honeybees. The plant is flowering after many others have ceased to display nectar-producing flowers, providing bees with what they need for a unique tasting late honey crop. One acre of buckwheat can yield as much as one hundred fifty pounds of honey in a single season, if it is tended by a healthy hive.

Buckwheat seeds are nutritious and can be made into flour and other products. This flour is commonly used to make Japanese soba noodles; these noodles are made from finely ground buckwheat and were the foundation of the oldest known public restaurants. They are still treated as a delicacy worthy of special preparation in some places. Some varieties of buckwheat are also used as animal feed. In addition, the hulls that are stripped off the seeds are sometimes used as filler for homeopathic pillows that conform to the shape the user desires.

Buckwheat was an important crop in North America and other areas before alternative methods to restore fields were developed. Once nitrogen fertilizers were created, resting fields and rotating crops became less important, so the use of buckwheat as a smother crop decreased. However, the production of buckwheat increased in the 1970s when interest grew in whole foods, and people were once again interested in kasha, which is toasted buckwheat.

Overview

The buckwheat plant is related to rhubarb. Buckwheat is a shrub that grows two to four feet tall and prefers a cool, moist climate. It can grow in a variety of soil conditions; this versatility is likely part of the reason that buckwheat was cultivated in so many different areas. The buckwheat plant produces clusters of flowers that then produce hundreds of small seeds shaped like small pyramids encased in hard black or brown shells.

The seed kernels must first be freed of the hard outer shell and then milled to the desired consistency for the final product. Grouts can be left whole, ground coarsely, or finely milled into flour. However, due to a high fat content, buckwheat groats and flours go rancid quickly, especially in hot weather. They can also have a strong, earthy yet bitter taste, which some people do not like.

Despite this, buckwheat has grown in popularity as a human food source in the twenty-first century. Some of this is due to the continuing popularity of Japanese soba noodles. People also like buckwheat because it is healthy.

Buckwheat is not wheat and is gluten free, although the gluten-intolerant need to exercise caution when consuming products containing buckwheat because it is often combined with wheat flour for baking and other purposes. Buckwheat contains resistant fiber, a kind of fiber that has been shown to stay in the human digestive system for an extended period. This can lead to longer feelings of fullness and better blood sugar control that can help with weight management and obesity-related conditions such as diabetes.

Buckwheat contains many nutrients, including manganese, copper, magnesium, pantothenic acid, niacin, choline, B6, folate, and thiamine. It also includes a number of nutraceuticals, or food-derived substances that help prevent or treat diseases. These include quercetin, which helps the vascular system; rutin, which helps the cardiovascular system and inhibits allergy-triggering histamines; tannins, substances usually found in teas that support the immune and digestive systems; and several bound antioxidants, special substances released in the bowel during digestion that are thought to help prevent cell damage.

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