What is buckwheat?
Think buckwheat is a grain? Or a type of wheat? Oddly, it’s neither – find out more… and how to use buckwheat in your recipes.
Buckwheat is a ‘pseudo-cereal’ crop that produces short plants with bright green, heart-shaped leaves. The white flowers of the plant yield the brownish buckwheat groats, that are slightly cone or pyramid-shaped. These seeds are similar to quinoa and amaranth.
There are some bumper health benefits to eating buckwheat. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, high in protein and packed full of vitamins including manganese and magnesium. Find out more about its benefits on healthyfood.co.uk
Buckwheat groats are typically used in salads, much like a grain, or even as a replacement for oats in porridge. You can also use them as a replacement for rice.
Buckwheat is also available in ground form, as a gluten-free flour – and you can use it to make pancakes, for example.
Three recipes to try:
Fruit and herb buckwheat salad
Parma ham, mozzarella and peach salad with buckwheat and quinoa