[Sca-cooks] buckwheat?

[AEllin Olafs dotter]

He's never had buckwheat pancakes. He's never had soba noodles. He's 
never had kasha... (Ah! That's what I'll have for lunch...)  Or at 
least, if he has, he doesn't know it...  It looks gray and unappetizing, 
but has an assertive taste many people love.

Buckwheat is not wheat. It's actually a grass, I think... I've seen back 
and forth arguments about whether or not it is officially a grain, and 
don't know enough to hold forth myself.

Served as groats, it is used in the Russian dish kasha. Take the groats, 
stir in egg, cook in a skillet until the egg is cooked and coats each 
groat, add broth and cook until done. You can add egg noodles, 
traditionally little bow noodles, for Kasha Varnishekes, which, around 
here at least, is traditionally Jewish. And very good...

Ground into flour, it is used in Traditional American Cooking mostly for 
pancakes. Usually mixed with wheat flour, good flavor.

Ground into flour, it is used in Japan for soba noodles. Those are the 
thin gray ones. They're used a lot in soup, considered a bit less 
elegant than somen, the thin wheat ones, and about the same as udon, the 
thick wheat ones. I strongly prefer soba, as they have more flavor and 
don't get soggy. They are also the ones used in cold noodle dishes, 
served with dipping sauces.

All this is modern cooking. Certainly it was used in the middle ages, 
it's been around a long time, but I have no idea where or for what.

AEllin

Harris Mark.S-rsve60 wrote:

> So, what *is* buckwheat? Other than an character in an old video 
> series? I may have had buckwheat pancakes in the past, but what is it? 
> Is buckwheat a type of wheat? Or some other grain? Or is it wheat that 
> has been treated, or not treated, in a specific manner?
>
>Stefan
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