Buckwheat

Buckwheat consists of flowering plants in the genus Fagopyrum, belonging to the knotweed family Polygonaceae. Buckwheat is a pseudocereal cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Unlike wheat, buckwheat does not belong to the grass family. Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), native to south-central China and Tibet, has been introduced into temperate climates across Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.

Quotes

•               BUCKWHEAT CAKES.
        A quart of buckwheat meal.
        A handful of Indian meal.
        A tea-spoonful of salt.
        A large table-spoonful of the strongest and freshest yeast.
        Sufficient water to mix a batter.
  The only way of using buckwheat meal is for thin flat batter-cakes resembling crumpets. Buckwheat in grains or unground, is good food for poultry. When in blossom, its flowers (which are small and white) are very fragrant, and much liked by bees; to whose honey it gives a delicious flavor.
  • Eliza Leslie, The Indian Meal Book, Comprising the Best American Receipts for the Various Preparations of that Excellent Article (2nd ed.). London: Smith, Elder & Company. 1846. pp. 50–51. 

• ... Buckwheat does not belong in any regular cropping system. It is an ideal grain catch-crop. When a meadow or a grain field in the regular rotation fails there is no better crop to fill up the loss. Buckwheat is a good crop—there is no better where climatic conditions are right—to sow on new ground or ground that has long been out of cultivation. On poor ground there is no grain crop that can compete with it.
  • Forrest Wilbur Stemple, (August 1919)"Experiments with Buckwheat". Bulletin 171, West Virginia University, West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Bulletins. quote from p. 5; research repository of bulletins

• The Tartary buckwheat is cultivated in the cooler and more mountainous regions of Asia and to some extent in Canada and Maine. It is recommended for its superior hardiness. ... The grain is smaller than the common buckwheat, the plants are more slender and the leaves arrow-shaped. It is sometimes called India wheat and duckwheat. The true buckwheat has bright, white or pink-tinged flowers in large trusses or heads; the India wheat has smaller greenish white flowers in small heads, and also small leaves. ...
  The common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is the most valuable and most widely grown form. It is met with wild in China and Siberia and enters into the agriculture of every country where grain crops are cultivated. In China it has been grown and used for food from time immemorial. In Japan it is held in general esteem and in Russia it is also largely consumed. It has been cultivated for centuries in England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
  • John Lemuel Stone, (April 1906)"Buckwheat". Bulletin 238 of Bulletins of Cornell University, Agricultural Experiment Station of the College of Agriculture, Department of Agronomy: 183–193. (quote from p. 185)

• The weather was already growing wintry, and morning frosts congealed an earth saturated by autumn rains. The verdure had thickened and its bright green stood out sharply against the brownish strips of winter rye trodden down by the cattle, and against the pale-yellow stubble of the spring buckwheat.
  • Leo Tolstoy, as translated from the Russian by Aylmer and Louise Maude, "Book 7, Chapter 3". War and Peace. Volume 1. The Collector's Library. 2004. p. 120. ISBN 1904633854.  (The 1st edition of Война и мир (War and Peace) was published in 1869.)

• ... Historically, buckwheat was an appreciated crop because of its short growth period, moderate requirements for growth conditions, and high adaptability to adverse environments. Nowadays, interest in buckwheat-based food has increased because of its nutritional composition and many beneficial properties for human health. Buckwheat is a rich course of proteins, dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, including flavonoids. Moreover, it contains no gluten and can be used in the production of gluten-free foods for individuals diagnosed with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or wheat protein allergies. Buckwheat is traditionally used in the production of various foods and can be successfully incorporated into various new food formulations with positive effects on their nutritional value and attractive sensory properties.
  • Galia Zamaratskaia, Karin Gerhardt, Martin Knicky, and Karin Wendin, (2024). "Buckwheat: an underutilized crop with attractive sensory qualities and health benefits (Review Article)". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 64 (33): 12303–12318. DOI:10.1080/10408398.2023.2249112.

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Buckwheat on Wikipedia
• Moskowitz, Isa Chandra (2009). "Buckwheat Waffles". Vegan Brunch: Homestyle Recipes Worth Waking Up For—From Asparagus Omelets to Pumpkin Pancakes. Da Capo Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-7382-1272-2.