Buckwheat

 On a recent shopping trip, I got a bag of nutrient dense whole buckwheat groats. I've used buckwheat before, but it's been awhile! 

Buckwheat - soaking some for sprouts

With origins in Asia, this pseudo-gain (*it's a large seed - naturally free of gluten) has a unique amino acid composition that gives it biological activities and properties which promote health. These include cholesterol-lowering effects, anti-hypertension effects and the ability to improve digestion. A fan of oatmeal? Try adding some Buckwheat or Kasha to your meals!

Buckwheat

Japanese agricultural encyclopedia 

When buckwheat is fermented, in drinks or sourdough, it can act as a valuable prebiotic that nourishes healthy bacteria in the digestive tract. Studies show that consuming fermented buckwheat products can improve the body’s pH level — or the balance between acidity and alkalinity — that keeps harmful bacteria and disease from forming.

Components include 

• Phenolic compounds and flavonoids, including rutin, quercetin, chlorogenic acid, orientin, isoorientin, vitexin and isovitexin
• Tannins
• D-chiro-inositol 
• Fagopyritols (including galactosyl derivatives of D-chiro-inositol)
• Resistant starch and protein (including amino acids lysine, tryptophan, threonine and the sulphur-containing amino acids)

One of the earliest crops to be domesticated (6-8000 years ago in SE Asia and Japan), it can be used in many of the same ways as other seeds and grains, and cooks in about 20 minutes.

Sprouts and cooked Kasha

I rinsed and soaked 1/2 Cup of the groats for sprouting, and cooked up a small batch. I added some of the cooked seeds and some of the soaking water to my last batch of sourdough muffins - so good! 

Soaking time for sprouts is 2-4 hours, and the groats need to be raw. Rinse, place in a bowl and strain, or in a sprouting jar, and rinse 2-3× over the next 24 hours. The sprout 'tails' should be about as long as the seeds. I saved the rinse water to use in my sourdough. 

The cooked groats have a mild flavor, nice crunch, and are done in 15-20 minutes - I'll add quinoa to my next batch for more protein and flavor!  I used 1/2 cup of the sprouts with 1/2 cup oatmeal in my Granola, this morning - and will store it in the fridge. You can also use cooked or sprouted buckwheat with oatmeal as a crisp or streusel topping. 

Buckwheat is a wonderful cover crop, loved by the bees, and simple to chop back in just a few weeks. While it doesn't fix nitrogen (crops like clover, beans and peas do that!) it keeps the nitrogen in the soul, close to the surface!

Have you used buckwheat?