| Its name can mislead because
buckwheat is not a wheat. From a botanical point
of view buckwheat is included among the annual broadleaf crops. It
comes from central Asia - Northern China, Southern
Siberia and Turk Stan steppes. Nomad tribes, who fought to conquer
more lands, brought buckwheat to Europe.
Its ripening
is very fast and takes about 10-12 weeks. Its plants
become 30-80 cm high. Its flowers can be
white or pink, they contain a lot of nectar and are therefore
always crowded with bees. Its fruits are triangular seeds whose
colour ranges from dark brown to silver grey. Their aspect reminds
of little beech-nuts, from which comes its German name "Buchweizen".
It is necessary to remove its hull before cooking
it. In the past buckwheat was cultivated in many European areas
and it was part of the daily nutrition. Then it left its place to
cultivations which were more productive, as for example maize and
potatoes.
Buckwheat and the flour produced with it have conquered just in
these last years their ancient importance. |
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The interesting
factors are the following:
- the high digestibility which makes buckwheat particularly
adapt to people who have digestion problems.
- the lysine content, which is three fold
as against that of wheat (lysine is the most important protein;
it is an essential amino acid responsible for bone
development).
- the high content in minerals: iron, phosphor,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, tin and silicic acid.
- moreover, buckwheat has an unusually high content in
lecithin, which is an important substance
as for biological value and which is similar to fat.
- People who are allergic to gluten can
eat buckwheat. Buckwheat goes well with cheese and with
any kind of vegetables: leeks, carrots, spinach, tomatoes
and potatoes.
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Nutritive value:
100g buckwheat seeds contain 365kcal, that is 1.496KJ/6 BE. |
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