I am continually on a search for foods that are nutritious and flavourful without requiring a lot of doctoring. Buckwheat definitely fills that bill quite nicely.

            You may already enjoy kasha, soba noodles or even blini. These are all made from buckwheat. The term “buckwheat” is actually a misnomer. The plant, fagopyrum esculentum, originated in Russia and China and is not actually a grain or related to the wheat family; it is from the same family as rhubarb. Its English name is derived from the Dutch word for beechnut, boc, because the seed looks like the beechnut fruit, and whoet, since it is used much as we use wheat. The buckwheat kernel or seed consists of a dark, thick hull and a hard white inner groat. This groat can be ground into flour, cooked whole like rice, or roasted and crushed to make kasha. The raw groat has a robust and nutty flavour; roasting the groat increases its flavour and reduces the mild bitterness found in the raw groat.

            In Russia, the groats are used ground into flour to make their traditional dish, blini. These are small buckwheat pancakes usually topped with caviar and sour cream. Buckwheat flour is available in varying shades of grey, depending upon the amount of dark hull left in the blend. The darker the flour, the stronger the flavour, but also the higher fibre content. Throughout Eastern Europe and Russia, roasted groats or kasha, are served mixed with lots of vegetables as a favourite side or main dish. Kasha comes in three sizes of grind: coarse, medium and fine. A traditional Jewish dish, knish, is a pastry turnover filled with cheeses, ground meats and buckwheat groats. Kasha makes a good substitute for rice, can be used as a stuffing for chicken or game and works well in grain salads in place of bulgar wheat or couscous.

            Finely ground buckwheat groats, or grits, can be cooked to make a creamy hot breakfast cereal, not unlike the more familiar cream of wheat cereal we have in North America. And of course, here in North America, we are all familiar with buckwheat pancakes and waffles smothered in maple syrup.

            The Japanese are perhaps the largest consumers of buckwheat which they call “soba”. The flour is used to make their most popular street food, soba noodles. These are eaten every day in this country; in hot broth soup with vegetables during the winter, and cold with a dipping sauce in summer.

            Because buckwheat is not “wheat” it does not contain gluten, which makes it of interest to those with allergies. But, also because it does not contain gluten, it can not be used alone for most baking or noodle making. In most instances, wheat flour must be added to help pastries rise or to make a supple noodle dough. Anyone with allergies should be aware of this, and check the ingredients of even soba noodles, although soba noodles with only buckwheat flour can be found in some health food stores.

            Buckwheat not only expands your “grain” repertoire, but unlike the true grains such as wheat, it contains all eight amino acid. This includes Lysine which is missing from wheat. It also is a good source of fibre and minerals. But truly the best reason for becoming familiar with this food is that it gives us one more healthy choice.