Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) orcommon buckwheat[2][3] is aflowering plant in the knotweed familyPolygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as acover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what is nowYunnan Province in southwesternChina. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such asFagopyrum tataricum, a domesticated food plant raised in Asia.
Despite its name, buckwheat is not closely related towheat. Buckwheat is not acereal, nor is it even a member of thegrass family. It is related tosorrel,knotweed, andrhubarb. Buckwheat is considered apseudocereal, because its seeds' highstarch content allows them to be used in cooking like a cereal.
The name "buckwheat" or "beech wheat" comes from itstetrahedral seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from thebeech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat. The word may be a translation ofMiddle Dutchboecweite:boec "beech" (Modern Dutchbeuk; seePIE *bhago-) andweite "wheat" (Mod. Dut.tarwe, antiquatedweit), or maybe a native formation on the same model as the Dutch word.[4]
Buckwheat is a herbaceous annual flowering plant growing to about 60 centimetres (24 in), with red stems and pink and white flowers resembling those of knotweeds.[5]: 68 The leaves are arrow-shaped and the fruits are achenes about 5–7 mm with 3 prominent sharp angles.[6]: 94
Fagopyrum esculentum is native to south-central China and Tibet,[7] and has been introduced into suitable climates across Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.[7]
Buckwheat, illustration from the Japanese agricultural encyclopedia Seikei Zusetsu (1804)
The wild ancestor of common buckwheat isF. esculentum ssp.ancestrale.F. homotropicum is interfertile withF. esculentum and the wild forms have a common distribution, in Yunnan, a southwestern province of China. The wild ancestor of tartary buckwheat isF. tataricum ssp.potanini.[8]
Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in inlandSoutheast Asia, possibly around 6000 BCE, and from there spread toCentral Asia andTibet, and then to theMiddle East and Europe, which it reached by the 15th century.[9] Domestication most likely took place in the western Yunnan region of China.[10]
The oldest remains found in China so far date tocirca 2600 BCE, while buckwheat pollen found in Japan dates from as early as 4000 BCE. It is the world's highest-elevation domesticate, being cultivated inYunnan on the edge of theTibetan Plateau or on the plateau itself. Buckwheat was one of the earliest crops introduced by Europeans to North America. Dispersal around the globe was complete by 2006, when a variety developed in Canada was widely planted in China. In India, buckwheat flour is known askuttu ka atta and has long been culturally associated with many festivals likeShivratri,Navaratri andJanmashtami. On the day of these festivals, food items made only from buckwheat are consumed.[11]
Buckwheat with flowers, ripe and unripe seedsExhibition of Flower Festival, Taiwan
Buckwheat is a short-season crop that grows well in low-fertility or acidic soils; too much fertilizer – especiallynitrogen – reduces yields, and the soil must be well drained. In hot climates buckwheat can be grown only by sowing late in the season, so that it blooms in cooler weather. The presence ofpollinators greatly increases yield.[12] Nectar from flowering buckwheat produces a dark-colored honey.[13]
The buckwheat plant has a branching root system with a primarytaproot that reaches deeply into moist soil.[14] It grows 75 to 125 centimetres (30 to 50 inches) tall.[15] Buckwheat has tetrahedral seeds and produces a flower that is usually white, although can also be pink or yellow.[16] Buckwheat branches freely, as opposed totillering or producing suckers, enabling more complete adaption to its environment than other cereal crops.[14]
Buckwheat is raised for grain only where a brief time is available for growth, either because the buckwheat is an early or a second crop in the season, or because the total growing season is limited. It establishes quickly, which suppresses summer weeds, and can be a reliablecover crop in summer to fit a small slot of warm season.[15] Buckwheat has a growing period of only 10–12 weeks[17] and it can be grown in high latitude or northern areas.[18] Buckwheat is sometimes used as agreen manure, as a plant forerosion control or as wildlife cover and feed.[15]
In 2022, world production of buckwheat was 2.2 million tonnes, led by Russia with 55% of the world total, followed by China with 23% andUkraine with 7%.[19]
F. esculentum is often studied and used as a pollen and nectar source to increase natural predator numbers to control crop pests.[20] Berndt et al. 2002 found that the results were notentirely promising in one vineyard in New Zealand[21][22][23] but the same team – Berndt et al. 2006, four years later and studying a number of vineyards up and down New Zealand – did find a significant increase in 22parasitoids, especiallyDolichogenideatasmanica,[23] as did Irvin et al. 1999 forD. t. inCanterbury orchards.[24] Gurr et al. 1998 showed thatfloral nectaries – and notshelter in oralternate hosts onF. esculentum – were responsible for this increase, and Stephens et al. 1998 forAnacharis spp. onMicromus tasmaniae. Stephens et al. 1998 also first demonstrated a great increase ofA. spp. onM. t. (which also commonly predates onF. e.).[24] Cullen et al. 2013 found that vineyards aroundWaipara had not continued planting buckwheat, suggesting a need for further technique development so that buckwheat will integrate well with real-world vineyard practice.[23] English-Loeb et al. 2003 found that itdoes sustain greater numbers ofAnagrus parasitoids onErythroneura leafhoppers,[23] and Balzan and Wäckers 2013 found the same forNecremnusartynes and Ferracini et al. 2012 forNecremnustutae onTuta absoluta, and thereby act as pest controls intomato,potato, and to a lesser degree other Solanaceous and non-Solanaceous horticulturals.[25] Kalinova and Moudry 2003 found that furthercompanion planting with other flowersat the wrong time of year may actually causeF. esculentum to be killed by frosts it would have otherwise survived, and Colley and Luna 2000 found that it may delay its flowering to not coincide with thenatural enemy it was planted to feed.[20] Foti et al. 2016 found significantshort-chain carboxylic acid variation to be the most likely explanation for biocontrol performance variation betweencultivars.[20]
Cases of severeallergic reactions to buckwheat and buckwheat-containing products have been reported.[39] Buckwheat containsfluorescentphototoxicfagopyrins.[28] Seeds, flour, and teas are generally safe when consumed in normal amounts,[quantify] but fagopyrism can appear in people with diets based on high consumption of buckwheat sprouts, and particularly flowers or fagopyrin-rich buckwheat extracts.[40] Symptoms of fagopyrism in humans may include skininflammation in sunlight-exposed areas, cold sensitivity, and tingling or numbness in the hands.[40]
Buckwheat flourBuckwheat (left), buckwheat flakes (fast cooking) (right), and crispbread made of buckwheat flour.
The fruit is anachene, similar tosunflower seed, with a single seed inside a hard outerhull. The starchyendosperm is white and makes up most or all of buckwheatflour. The seed coat is green or tan, which darkens buckwheat flour. The hull is dark brown or black, and some may be included in buckwheat flour as dark specks. The dark flour is known asblé noir (black wheat) in French, along with the namesarrasin (saracen). Similarly, in Italy, it is known asgrano saraceno (saracen grain).[41] The grain can be prepared by simple dehulling, milling intofarina, to whole-grain flour or to white flour. The grain can be fractionated into starch, germ and hull for specialized uses.
Buckwheatgroats are commonly used in western Asia and eastern Europe. Theporridge was common, and is often considered the definitivepeasant dish. It is made fromroasted groats that are cooked withbroth to a texture similar to rice orbulgur. The dish was taken to America by Jewish, Ukrainian, Russian, andPolishimmigrants who called itkasha, as it is known today, who mixed it withpasta or used it as a filling forcabbage rolls (stuffed cabbage),knishes, andblintzes. Groats were the most widely used form of buckwheat worldwide during the 20th century, eaten primarily inEstonia,Latvia,Lithuania, Russia,Ukraine,Belarus, andPoland, calledgrechka (Greek [grain]) in Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian languages.
Buckwheatnoodles have been eaten inTibet and northern China for centuries, where the growing season is too short to raise wheat. A wooden press is used to press thedough into hot boiling water when making buckwheat noodles. Old presses found in Tibet andShanxi share the same basic design features. The Japanese and Koreans may have learned the process of making buckwheat noodles from them.
Buckwheatnoodles play a major role in the cuisines of Japan (soba)[42] and Korea (naengmyeon,makguksu andmemil guksu).Soba noodles are the subject of deep cultural importance in Japan. The difficulty of making noodles from flour with no gluten has resulted in a traditional art developed around their manufacture by hand. A jelly calledmemilmuk in Korea is made from buckwheatstarch.
Noodles also appear in Italy, withpasta di grano saraceno inApulia region of Southern Italy andpizzoccheri in theValtellina region of Northern Italy.
Buckwheatpancakes are eaten in several countries. They are known as buckwheatblini in Russia,galettes bretonnes in France,ployes inAcadia,poffertjes in the Netherlands,boûketes in theWallonia region of Belgium,kuttu ki puri in India andkachhyamba in Nepal. Similar pancakes were a common food in American pioneer days.[43] They are light and airy when baked. The buckwheat flour gives the pancakes an earthy, mildly mushroom-like taste.
Yeasted patties calledhrechanyky are made in Ukraine.
Buckwheat is a permitted sustenance during fasting in several traditions. In India, onHindu fasting days (Navaratri,Ekadashi,Janmashtami,Maha Shivaratri, etc.), fasting people in northern states of India eat foods made of buckwheat flour. Eating cereals such aswheat orrice is prohibited during such fasting days. While strict Hindus do not even drink water during their fast, others give up cereals andsalt and instead eat non-cereal foods such as buckwheat (kuttu). In the Russian Orthodox tradition, it is eaten on the St. Philip fast.[44]
Buckwheat honey is dark, strong and aromatic. Because it does not complement other honeys, it is normally produced as amonofloral honey.
In recent years, buckwheat has been used as a substitute for other grains ingluten-free beer. Although it is not an actual cereal (being a pseudocereal), buckwheat can be used in the same way asbarley to produce amalt that can form the basis of amash that will brew abeer withoutgliadin orhordein (togethergluten) and therefore can be suitable forcoeliacs or others sensitive to certainglycoproteins.[46]
Buckwheat hulls are used as filling for a variety ofupholstered goods, includingpillows. The hulls are durable and do not insulate or reflect heat as much as synthetic filling. They are sometimes marketed as an alternative natural filling to feathers for those with allergies. However, medical studies to measure the health effects of pillows manufactured with unprocessed and uncleaned hulls concluded that such buckwheat pillows do contain higher levels of a potential allergen that may triggerasthma in susceptible individuals than do new synthetic-filled pillows.[47][48]
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^Stace, C. A. (2019).New Flora of the British Isles (Fourth ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk, U.K.: C & M Floristics.ISBN978-1-5272-2630-2.
^Weekly, Ernest (1967). "Buckwheat".An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. Dover Publications. p. 211.
^Ohnishi, O (1998). "Search for the wild ancestor of buckwheat III. The wild ancestor of cultivated common buckwheat, and of tatary buckwheat".Economic Botany.52 (2):123–133.doi:10.1007/BF02861199.S2CID22902898.
^Pasini, Federica; Gardini, Silvia; Marcazzan, Gian Luigi; Caboni, Maria Fiorenza (2013). "Buckwheat honeys: Screening of composition and properties".Food Chemistry.141 (3):2802–2811.doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.05.102.PMID23871027.
^abStone, J.L. (1906). Buckwheat. Agricultural experiment station of the College of Agriculture Department of Agronomy (Report). Bulletin. Vol. 238. Ithaca, NY:Cornell University. pp. 184–193.
^Ožbolt L, Kreft S, Kreft I, Germ M, Stibilj V (2008). "Distribution of selenium and phenolics in buckwheat plants grown from seeds soaked in Se solution and under different levels of UV-B radiation".Food Chemistry.110 (3):691–6.doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.02.073.
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