Contrary to the popular belief, buckwheat is not a grain but rather a grass. Buckwheat groat is the fruit of a leafy plant related to rhubarb and sorrel. When the buckwheat groats are roasted, they are called kasha.

Buckwheat was brought to the USA by Dutch settlers (by way of China) and was once a major crop. By the Hindus, buckwheat, which is extensively cultivated in Himalayas, is eaten on "bart" or fast days, being one of the lawful foods for such occasions. In Japan, Buckwheat is called Soba, and its flour is prepared into Soba noodles. Its young leaves are eaten as a vegetable and its stalks are used to feed cattle. In the Russian Army, Buckwheat groats are served out as part of the soldiers' rations and cooked with butter, tallow, or hemp-seed oil. In Germany it forms an ingredient in pottage, puddings, and other food.

Beer may be brewed from the grain, and by distillation it yields an excellent spirit, in Danzig much used in the preparation of cordial waters. Buckwheat honey is also very delicious.

Majority of the crops is grown without pesticides or herbicides, for it grows so quickly that it will kill off any weeds.

The Nutritional Value of Buckwheat.

Research done by the Department of Agriculture indicates that Buckwheat has an amino acid composition nutritionally superior to all cereals, including oats. It contains eight of the amino acids with proper proportion required by the human body. It has high content of lysine, an amino acid our bodies need and cant make, which is not prevalent in most other grains.

Most fatty acids in Buckwheat are non-saturated oleic and linoleic acids

Buckwheat is also rich in vitamins, particularly vitamin P, E and the B complex, and high levels of nutritional mineral elements such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper, and calcium. Buckwheat also provides a moderate amount of dietary fiber.

The medicinal Properties of Buckwheat.

Buckwheat is a good source of rutin, a flavonoid that strengthens the arterial walls, reducing blood pressure, and assisting to relieve varicose veins. Any fragility of the vein structure is helped with rutin, but in cases of stroke, where small veins in the brain break, rutin is invaluable.

Buckwheat can evidently reduce blood sugar, blood fat and urine sugar; thus it offers protection against and treatment of the deterioration of heart blood vessels, vascular sclerosis of the brain, and hypertension. It is also a very good medicinal food for people who have been exposed to radiation.

Kasha has a nutty flavor and can be seasoned to be sweet (with cinnamon, orange zest, etc.) or savory (with salt, pepper, and other spices). Kasha's flavor marries well with root vegetables, cabbage, peppers, winter squash, eggplant, and meat or poultry.

It is best used as a cereal, though healthfully made breads, pancakes, and muffins make a nutritious variation.