SC - Buckwheat is Old World

[Philip & Susan Troy]

"James F. Johnson" wrote:
> 
> Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
> >
> > "James F. Johnson" wrote:
> > >
> > > Not a solid reference, but Encyclopaedia Britannica states buckwheat is
> > > 'believed to have originated in China' in it's Buckwheat entry. (I just
> > > tend to doubt EB would be off by a continent or two...). Tends to like
> > > cooler climes, too. And in the same family with rhubarb, sea grape, and
> > > common sorrel/dock.
> >
> > Quite possible. The trouble is that one can't automatically translate
> > "kasha" as buckwheat groats, any more than "frumenty" automatically
> > means wheat. It is suggested by the translator and editor (well, one of
> > them) of the Domestroi that the kasha in the text is probably barley,
> > and not cooked with the whole egg-coated pilaffy thing commonly
> > associated with buckwheat kasha. Not directly related points, I know,
> > but... .
> 
> Are we talking about the botanical buckwheat plant (_Fagopyrum
> esculentum_), or the gastronomic dish 'kasha'?

That was my question, too! My point was that even if buckwheat does
prove to have been Old World, which it seems it was (if not widely known
or eaten in period Western Europe, which is unfortunately what most
people mean by "period", used an an adjective), the use of a discussion
on kasha doesn't conclusively support this without added information.
> 
> Yes, kasha is not limited to buckwheat groats, at least not mundanely.
> The Russians used the same term to describe rice as well, dispite the
> fact they have a word for rice.
> The kasha I ate in Zai-Baikal Siberia was simply boiled buckwheat kasha,
> cooked with a little salt. The side of kasha served at restaurants was
> the same. One village 'cafe' served it topped with a whole fried egg,
> but it wasn't cooking into it. Until now, I never heard of the 'whole
> egg-coated pilaffy thing' until now. For me, kasha is boiled buckwheat
> groats and nothing else.

As far as I know, what most Americans think of as kasha is a Russian
Jewish dish which has been disseminated around the parts of the country
with Jewish populations via kosher delicatessens and the recipe on the
back of the box of Wolff's Kasha, which is indeed buckwheat groats. The
standard preparation (relax, Ras, I'm talking about a very specific dish
here!) involves toasting the dry groats in a warm saute pan, and then
adding an egg and stirring, over low heat, to coat the grains, stirring
constantly until the groats have a clearish, shiny dry coating. The
grains, being more porous than the pan, are what get the majority of the
egg coating. To this can be added chopped onion and/or mushrooms, and
then hot stock or water, and the whole thing gets cooked like a rice
pilaf. It is often then eaten as is, like a pilaf, or mixed with
mushrooms, onions, and farfalle or egg-bow pasta for kasha varnishkas,
or even as a filling for knishes, among numerous other presentations. 

I was trying to distinguish between kasha-the-generic-cooked grain
(which, even if it was always buckwheat, I believe to be the linguistic
usage you encountered), kasha-the-synonym-for-buckwheat, and
kasha-in-the-little-Wolff's-box-in-the-grocery-store. I suppose that
while not everywhere is rural Russia, not everywhere is the Lower East
Side of New York, either. My error!

Harold McGee, BTW (whom I shoulda oughtta checked first before speaking
in the first place: like Waverly Root _except_ he's usually right), says
that buckwheat seems to originate in Central Asia, was first cultivated
in China, and was introduced to Europe at the end of the Middle Ages.
Whatever that means. He also says that buckwheat is technically not a
grain at all, since fagopyra aren't grasses at all: the kernels are part
of a fruiting body, analogous to the seeds on a strawberry. This may be
part of why buckwheat sometimes doesn't make it, or make it accurately,
into discussions on grains in various textbooks.

Adamantius 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com