This article is about the food crop. For the
Our Gang/
Little Rascals character, see
Billie "Buckwheat"
Thomas.
Buckwheat refers to plants in two genera of the family Polygonaceae, the Eurasian
genus Fagopyrum, and the North American genus Eriogonum. The crop plant, common buckwheat, is Fagopyrum esculentum. Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum Gaertn.) or "bitter buckwheat" is also used as a crop, but it
is much less common. Despite the common name and the grain-like use of the crop, buckwheats are not grasses and are not related to wheat. The agricultural weed known as
Wild Buckwheat (Fallopia convolvulus) is in the same family, but not closely
related to the crop species. Within Fagopyrum, the cultivated species are in the cymosum group, with F. cymosum L.
(perennial buckwheat), F. giganteum and F. homotropicum.[1] The wild ancestor of common buckwheat is F. esculentum
ssp.ancestrale. F. homotropicum is interfertile with F. esculentum and the wild forms have a common
distribution, in Yunnan. The wild ancestor of tartary buckwheat is "F. tataricum ssp. potanini.[2]
Etymology
The name "buckwheat" or "beech wheat" comes from its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut
from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat. The etymology of the word
is explained as partial translation of Middle Dutch boecweite : boek, beech; see PIE bhago- + weite, wheat.
Cultivation
Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in southeast Asia, possibly
around 6000 BC, and from there spread to Europe and to Central Asia and Tibet. Domestication most likely took place in the western Yunnan region of China.[3] Buckwheat is documented in Europe in the Balkans by at least the Middle Neolithic (circa 4000 BC) and the oldest known remains in China so far date to circa 2600 BC, and
buckwheat pollen has been found in Japan from as early as 4000 BC. It is the world's highest elevation domesticate, being
cultivated in Yunnan on the edge of the Tibetan 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.
Common Buckwheat in flower
Buckwheat is a short season crop that does well on low-fertility or acidic soils, but the soil must be well drained. Too much
fertilizer, especially nitrogen, will reduce yields. In hot climates, it can only be grown by sowing late in the season, so that
it will bloom in cooler weather. The presence of pollinators greatly increases the yield. The
nectar from buckwheat flower makes a dark colored honey. Buckwheat is sometimes used as a green
manure, as a plant for erosion control, or as wildlife cover and feed.
Common buckwheat is by far the most important buckwheat species, economically, accounting for over 90% of the world's
buckwheat production. A century ago, Russia was the world leader in buckwheat production.[4] Growing areas in the Russian
Empire were estimated at 2,600,000 hectares, followed by those of France (355,000
hectares).[5] In 1970 the
Soviet Union grew an estimated 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of buckwheat, but has since
been overtaken by China. Japan, Poland, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia also grow significant quantities of
buckwheat.
In the northeastern United States, buckwheat was a common crop in the 18th
and 19th centuries. Cultivation declined sharply in the 20th century due the use of nitrogen fertilizer, to which maize and wheat
respond strongly. Over a million acres (4,000 km²) were harvested in the United States in 1918. By
1954 that had declined to 150,000 acres (600 km²), and by 1964, the
last year that production statistics were gathered, only 50,000 acres (200 km²) were grown.
Use
The fruit is an achene, similar to sunflower seed, with a
single seed inside a hard outer hull. The starchy endosperm is white and makes up most or all of buckwheat flour. 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 (exaggeratedly) as "blé noir" ("black wheat") in French, along with the name sarrasin
("saracen").
Soba noodles, made from buckwheat flour
Buckwheat noodles are the major use in Japan (soba) and Korea (memil guksu). Soba noodles are the subject of deep cultural
importance in Japan. The difficulty of making noodles from flour that has no gluten has resulted in a traditional art developed
around their hand manufacture.
Buckwheat groats are commonly used in western Asia and eastern
Europe. The porridge was common, and is often considered the distinctive peasant dish. It is made
from roasted groats that are cooked with broth to a texture similar to rice or bulgur. The dish was brought to America by
Russian and Polish Jewish
immigrants who called it "kasha" and used it mixed with pasta or as a filling for knishes and blins, and hence buckwheat groats are most commonly called kasha
in America. Groats were the most widely used form of buckwheat worldwide during the 20th century, with consumption primarily in
Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
Buckwheat pancakes, sometimes raised with yeast, are eaten in
several countries. They are known as buckwheat blinis in Russia,
galettes in France (where they are especially associated with
Brittany), ployes in Acadia and
boûketes (that is, named the same as the plant they are made of) in Wallonia. Similar
pancakes were a common food in American pioneer days. They are light and foamy. The buckwheat flour gives them an earthy, mildly
mushroom-like taste. In Ukraine, yeast rolls called hrechanyky are made from buckwheat.
Farina made from groats are used for breakfast food, porridge, and thickening materials in soups, gravies, and dressings. In Korea, buckwheat starch
is used to make a jelly called memilmuk. It is also used with wheat, maize or rice in bread and pasta products.
Buckwheat contains no gluten, and can thus be eaten by people with coeliac disease or gluten allergies. Many bread-like preparations have been developed.
Besides the seeds, from which buckwheat flour is produced, buckwheat is also a good honey
plant, producing a dark, strong monofloral honey.
Buckwheat greens are not palatable to humans. If eaten in sufficient quantities, the greens, or their juice, can induce
sensitization of the skin to sunlight known as fagopyrism.[6][7] Fair
skinned people are particularly susceptible, as are light pigmented livestock. Enthusiasts of sprouting, however, eat the very young buckwheat sprouts (four to five days
of growth) for their subtle, nutty flavour and high nutritional value.
Medicinal uses
Buckwheat contains rutin, a medicinal chemical that
strengthens capillary walls, reducing hemorrhaging in people with high blood pressure and increasing microcirculation in people
with chronic venous insufficiency.[8] Dried buckwheat
leaves for tea were manufactured in Europe under the brand name "Fagorutin."
Buckwheat contains d-chiro-inositol, the cofactor missing in Type II diabetes. It is being studied for use in treating this
disease. [9]
A buckwheat protein has been found to bind cholesterol tightly. It is being studied for reducing plasma cholesterol in people
with an excess of this compound.[10]
Upholstery filling
Buckwheat hulls are used as filling for a variety of upholstered goods, including
pillows and zafu. The hulls are durable and do not conduct or
reflect heat as much as synthetic fills. They are sometimes marketed as an alternative natural fill to feathers for those with
allergies.
Medical studies to measure the health effects of buckwheat hull pillows have been performed.[11][12]
Buckwheat and beer
In recent years, buckwheat has been used as a substitute for other grain in gluten free
beer. Buckwheat is used in the same way as barley to produce a "malt" that can form the basis of a mash that will brew a beer without gliadin or hordein
(together "gluten") and therefore can be suitable for coeliacs or others sensitive to certain glycoproteins.[13]
Festivals
The buckwheat plant is celebrated in Kingwood, West Virginia at their
Buckwheat Festival where people can participate in swine, cow, and sheep judging contests, vegetable contests, and craft fairs.
The area fire departments also play an important role in the series of parades that occur there. Each year there is a King and
Lady Fireman elected. Also there are many rides and homemade, homegrown buckwheat cakes and sausage.
Recipes
References
- Alternative Field Crops
Manual
- Damania, A.B. 1998. "Diversity of Major Cultivated Plants Domesticated in the Near East".[1]
- Chun H.N., Chung C.K., Kang I.J., Kim E.R., Kim Y.S., Division of Life Sciences at Hallym University, South Korea: Effect of Germination on the
Nutritional Value of Buckwheat Seed
- Mazza, G. 1992. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), the crop and its importance, p. 534-539. In: R. MacRae (ed.).
Encyclopedia of food science, food technology and nutrition. Academic Press Ltd., London.
- Mazza, G. 1993. Storage, Processing, and Quality Aspects of Buckwheat Seed, p. 251-255. In: J. Janick and J.E. Simon
(eds.), New crops. Wiley, New York.
- Marshall, H.G. and Y. Pomeranz. 1982. Buckwheat description, breeding, production and utilization, p. 157-212 In: Y.
Pomeranz (ed.). Advances in cereal science and technology. Amer. Assoc. Cereal Chem., St. Paul, MN.
- McGregor, S.E. 1976. Insect Pollination Of Cultivated Crop Plants, chap. 9 Crop Plants and Exotic Plants. U.S.
Department of Agriculture. As found on the website of the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.[2]
Footnotes
- ^ T. Sharma, S. Jana (2002). "Species
relationships in Fagopyrum revealed by PCR-based DNA fingerprinting". Theoretical and Applied Genetics 105:
306-312. DOI:10.1007/s00122-002-0938-9.
- ^ Ohnishi, O., Matsuoka, Y. (1996). "Search
for the wild ancestor of buckwheat II. Taxonomy of Fagopyrum (Polygonaceae) species based on morphology, isozymes and
cpDNA variability". Genes and Genetic Systems 71: 383-390.
- ^ 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: 123-133.
- ^ For details, see William
Pokhlyobkin's essay about buckwheat, available online.
- ^ J. R. N. Taylor, P. S. Belton. Pseudocereals and Less Common
Cereals. Springer, 2002. ISBN 3540429395. Page 125.
- ^ "PDF Article by Gilles
Arbour". Retrieved on 2004-06-15.
- ^ Arbour, G. (December 2004). Are Buckwheat Greens
Toxic?. From the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients.
- ^ N. Ihme1, H. Kiesewetter, F. Jung, K. H.
Hoffmann, A. Birk, A. Müller and K. I. Grützner (2003). "Leg oedema protection from a buckwheat herb tea in patients with chronic
venous insufficiency: a single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial". European Journal of
Clinical Pharmacology 51: 7287 -7291.
- ^ Kawa, J.M., Taylor, C.G., Przybylski, R.
(1996). "Buckwheat Concentrate Reduces Serum Glucose in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats". J. Agric. Food Chem 50:
443-447.
- ^ H. Tomotake, I. Shimaoka, J. Kayashita, F.
Yokoyama, M. Nakajoh and N. Kato. (2001). "Stronger suppression of plasma cholesterol and enhancement of the fecal excretion of
steroids by a buckwheat protein product than by a soy protein isolate in rats fed on a cholesterol-free diet.". Bioscience
Biotechnology and Biochemistry 65: 1412-1414.
- ^ Dermatophagoides Farinae, an Important Allergenic Substance in
Buckwheat-Husk Pillows, Yonsei Medical Journal 1987 December;28(4):274-281 HTML
summary, Full text PDF
- ^ Endotoxin and House Dust Mite Allergen Levels on Synthetic and
Buckwheat Pillows, Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2004; 19: 505-8 ISSN 1011-8934 PDF
- ^ glutenfreebeerfestival.com. Carolyn Smagalski, www.glutenfreebeerfestival.com (2006).
See also
External links
Kingwood Buckwheat Festival Official Site
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