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Buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum) or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat cultivation originated around the 6th millennium BC in the region of what is now Yunnan in southwestern China. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as Fagopyrum tataricum, a domesticated food plant raised in Asia.
Despite its name, buckwheat is not closely related to wheat, nor is it a cereal or a member of the Poaceae. It is related to sorrel, Polygonum, and rhubarb. Buckwheat is considered a pseudocereal because the high starch content of the seeds enables buckwheat to be cooked and consumed like a cereal. Some people, especially in Japan, are seriously Allergy to buckwheat.
Fagopyrum esculentum is native to south-central China and Tibet, and has been introduced into suitable climates across Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.
Common buckwheat was domesticated and first cultivated in inland Southeast Asia, possibly around 6000 BC, and from there spread to Central Asia and Tibet, and then to the Middle East and Europe, which it reached by the 15th century. Domestication most likely took place in the western Yunnan region of China.
The oldest remains found in China so far date to 2600 BC, while buckwheat pollen found in Japan dates from as early as 4000 BC. It is the world's highest-elevation domesticate, being cultivated in Yunnan on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau or on the plateau itself. Buckwheat was one of the earliest crops introduced by Europeans to North America. Dispersal around the globe was complete by 2006, when a variety developed in Canada was widely planted in China. In India, buckwheat flour is known as kuttu ka atta and has long been culturally associated with many festivals like Shivratri, Navaratri and Janmashtami. On the day of these festivals, food items made only from buckwheat are consumed.
The buckwheat plant has a branching root system with a primary taproot that reaches deeply into moist soil. It grows tall. Buckwheat has tetrahedral seeds and produces a flower that is usually white, although can also be pink or yellow. Buckwheat branches freely, as opposed to tillering or producing suckers, enabling more complete adaption to its environment than other cereal crops.
Buckwheat is raised for grain where only a brief time is available for growth, either because the buckwheat is an early or a second crop in the season, or because the total growing season is limited. It establishes quickly, which suppresses summer weeds, and can be a reliable cover crop in summer to fit a small slot of warm season. Buckwheat has a growing period of only 10–12 weeks and it can be grown in high latitude or northern areas. Buckwheat is sometimes used as a green manure, as a plant for erosion control or as wildlife cover and feed. It may be used as a pollen and nectar source to increase natural predator numbers for biological control of crop pests.
| + Buckwheat production | |
| 1,149,067 | |
| 504,266 | |
| 210,720 | |
| 86,679 | |
| 83,491 | |
| 64,611 | |
| 2,204,015 | |
In 2023, world production of buckwheat was 2.2 million tonnes, led by Russia with 52% of the total, with China and Ukraine as secondary producers (table).
Salicylaldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) was identified as a characteristic component of buckwheat aroma. 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, phenylacetaldehyde, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, (E)-2-nonenal, decanal and hexanal also contribute to its aroma. They all have odour activity value of more than 50, but the aroma of these substances in an isolated state does not resemble buckwheat.
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Buckwheat are used in Tibet and Nepal to make thukpa soup. Similar noodles play a major role in the cuisines of Japan ( soba) and Korea ( naengmyeon, makguksu and memil-guksu). Soba noodles are the subject of deep cultural importance in Japan. The difficulty of making noodles from flour with no gluten has resulted in a traditional art developed around their manufacture by hand. A jelly called memilmuk in Korea is made from buckwheat starch. Local buckwheat variety from Bongpyeong-myeon, Korea, is known as Bongpyeong memil and is a powerful symbol for both cultural and gastronomic reasons.
Yeasted patties called hrechanyky are made in Ukraine, whereas across the border, in southeastern Poland hreczanyki are thick patties of ground pork mixed with cooked buckwheat groats ( kasza gryczana). Buckwheat were a common food in American pioneer days. Buckwheat form gluten-free Russian-style pancakes.
Buckwheat is a permitted sustenance during fasting in several traditions. In India, on Hindu fasting days (Navaratri, Ekadashi, Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, etc.), fasting people in northern states of India eat foods made of buckwheat flour. Eating cereals such as wheat or rice is prohibited during such fasting days. While strict Hindus do not even drink water during their fast, others give up cereals and salt and instead eat non-cereal foods such as buckwheat ( kuttu). In the Russian Orthodox tradition, it is eaten on the St. Philip fast.
Buckwheat honey is dark, strong and aromatic. It is normally produced as a monofloral honey. (2026). 9783662095447, Springer. ISBN 9783662095447
Buckwheat has been used as a substitute for other grains in gluten-free beer. It is used in the same way as barley to produce a malt that can form the basis of a mashing that will brew a beer without gliadin or hordein (together gluten) and therefore can be suitable for coeliac disease or others sensitive to certain glycoproteins.
Buckwheat whisky is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from buckwheat. It is produced in the Brittany region of France and in the United States.
Buckwheat shōchū is a Japanese distilled beverage produced since the 16th century. The taste is milder than barley shōchū.
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