Buying buckwheat

It's not super-easy to find buckwheat products in  regular grocery stores. The shelves are usually full of stuff like this.



But if you look around a bit, you can find some buckwheat items. In the aisles of a traditional grocery store, when food packaging says "Buckwheat" on it, that usually means that it's a mix or a prepared food with some buckwheat flour in the list of ingredients.




If you want to purchase buckwheat groats (groats = kernels or seeds) for a recipe, you might be able to find a box of kasha in the Jewish part of the ethnic food aisle. Otherwise, you'll probably need to go to a store like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. If you need a better price, or you don't live near an upscale gourmet health food store, you can order online from Amazon or smaller vendors.



The most basic, unprocessed version of buckwheat you can buy is unhulled raw whole buckwheat kernels (groats). These are what you take right off the plant. The seeds grow in little clusters of four or five. They are pointed at one end, the the outer hull is hard as a rock.

These unhulled seeds are generally meant to be planted or sprouted. To eat these, your best bet would be to grind them up in a coffee mill. The hulls are very fibrous so you'll want to sift out any bits of dark hull. Most people would find the fiber content of this flour too high for their digestive systems, and they would want the flour mixed with wheat flour or another gluten-free flour like sorghum or rice flour.

The next level of processing is raw buckwheat with the hulls removed. The individual grains are greenish. You need to look for the word "raw" on the label if this is what you need. These can be cooked in a couple of cups of water for fifteen minutes or so, and can be eaten as they are or they can be mixed with grains to make a multigrain hot cereal.

 Buckwheat groats in a box have almost always been roasted after hulling. The result is a nice brown product called kasha. Kasha is an ingredient in the traditional Jewish dishes Kasha varnishkes and kasha knishes. Kasha is used in many world cuisines, including those of India and Eastern Europe.

In this video, about making buckwheat pita bread, the instructor talks about knowing which buckwheat product you're choosing to cook with. 



You can always go by color: 


Over time, the selection at regular grocery stores is slowly expanding. One good place to check for buckwheat items is the health food aisle, as these foods are marketed to vegans, people who prefer organic and/or non-GMO food, or who seek out gluten-free breads, crackers, and noodles.

With all buckwheat's benefits (protein, fiber, and vitamins galore) it's still going to take a while till we have lots of buckwheat food choices everywhere.This is where online shopping has some advantages, offering the best selection and an opportunity to compare prices. Also, small farms and mills sometimes sell online, as it's more affordable for them and it's something they can do with a computer or smartphone from a farmhouse kitchen.







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