Buckwheat
Buckwheat is a pseudograin (seed) from the knotweed family that was cultivated thousands of years ago in Europe. Brought from North Africa by the Saracens, hence the Italian and French name, sarraceno/sarrasin. In the Middle Ages, it was reintroduced via the Silk Road from Central and North Asia, where the region of origin is also located.
Buckwheat, Fagopyrum Esculentum is a, the name buckwheat comes from beech (looks like little beech nuts) and whey (old name for wheat).
The crop has been around since the beginning of the 20the century has almost disappeared due to the rise of intensive agriculture and replacement by potatoes. It is easy to renovate but sensitive to weather influences.
Buckwheat is known for its abundant flowering in July and August with white flower plumes that contain a lot of nectar. The flowers attract many bees that make the famous dark buckwheat honey, a honey with medicinal properties. Due to the many insects and (insect-eating) birds, it is a major contribution to biodiversity.
Past and present
Buckwheat and buckwheat flour is nutritious, easy to digest and gluten-free. It contains a lot of magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. In addition, buckwheat contains rutin, a strong antioxidant that is also used in medicine.
The grains can be processed as porridge (grits and broken grains), for a hot meal (roasted whole grains as kasha), as a risotto or in a salad. As a flour for pancakes, along with another grain that contains gluten.
Balkenbrij is a traditionally known dish where the flour, together with leftover meat and broth, forms a kind of cake whose slices are baked. In Japan, soba noodles are made from buckwheat.
Buckwheat is shelled, the caps can be used in meditation cushions or heat cushions and yoga mats, among other things.
Long term
The Buckwheat Cooperative is a unique long-term initiative and is supported by provincial governments, nature and environmental organizations and is open to private sympathizers who care about buckwheat cultivation in the Netherlands.
For more information:
The Buckwheat Cooperative
+31 6 57933452
p.brul@telfort.nl