Buckwheat

In the hit parade of healthy products available to everyone in our latitudes, buckwheat or buckwheat is one of the first places. She is in demand and loved. Nutritionists sing odes to buckwheat, gastroenterologists recommend it as a dietary food for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Even babies prefer mixtures with buckwheat flour to everyone else.

Buckwheat is deservedly popular. It is strange that in Europe they are pretty cool about it. Perhaps because for the Slavs, cereals and pseudo-cereals, which buckwheat is, were the main food, while the Europeans had slightly different gastronomic preferences. But the Japanese treat buckwheat with reverence, they also have a national food. You will find out right now how buckwheat is useful and how to cook it correctly.

Buckwheat is a plant

Sowing buckwheat is a valuable cereal crop. Where it grows, there are no weeds, it does not need fertilization, and therefore it is one of the most environmentally friendly plants that can be eaten without fear of eating pesticides and herbicides along the way.

It belongs to the Buckwheat family, and the international scientific name for this plant is Fagopyrum. She is Asian by birth. It is believed that China is its homeland, although India and Nepal also claim this role. They say that it was brought to Russia from Greece, hence the name – buckwheat.

What does this plant look like:

An annual or perennial herb, reaching a height of up to 100 cm.
The root system is pivotal up to 50 cm in length.
Stems are erect, glabrous.
The leaves are large, triangular-arrow-shaped, 9 cm in length.
Inflorescences are collected in corollas, five-petal flowers, light pink in color. Honey plants.
The fruits are triangular nuts.

Buckwheat blooms for up to two months, for crops they choose places protected from the winds next to forest plantations. Afraid of frost, at temperatures below 8 C, plant growth slows down. It is planted in three stages with an interval of 7 to 10 days. Thus, the period for collecting honey by bees is extended. Pollinating bees help the plant and increase the yield of buckwheat, and buckwheat helps bees to harvest very tasty and healthy buckwheat honey, dark brown in color.

These are triangular-shaped nucleoli, painted in dark green or light brown. Depending on the processing of buckwheat seeds, and this is, in fact, the river, they distinguish:

kernel – whole grains;
thinned out – coarsely crushed kernel;
chop – heavily crushed buckwheat grain;
buckwheat flour – groats, ground to the state of flour.
steamed – light brown;
fried – dark brown;
natural – light green.

Each type of cereal has its own advantages:

Fried kernels are easy to boil, but due to heat treatment, there are fewer nutrients in it than in a natural kernel.

Crushed groats, or done, not everyone likes. Its shelf life is lower than that of kernels. Yes, and crushed it for substandard appearance. It is cheaper than kernels, but, on the other hand, it boils down very quickly.

Buckwheat flour is used for baking pancakes and pancakes. It is sometimes included as part of a gluten-free flour blend available from our store.

Depending on the size of the grains and the absence or presence of impurities, buckwheat of four varieties is distinguished, including the highest. The price and taste of the finished product directly depend on what kind of cereal you purchased.

The composition and useful properties of buckwheat

Buckwheat has an original taste with a nutty aftertaste. The most useful is natural unground, and the most delicious is fried unground. Before moving on to its useful properties, let’s get acquainted with the energy composition of buckwheat:

The protein of this cereal is 80% absorbed by the human body and contains 18 amino acids. Three of them – trionin, lysine and tryptophan, belong to the category of irreplaceable ones, that is, they are not produced by the body itself, but come only with food, but are necessary for building proteins in our body. For “vegans” this information is especially valuable. 100 g of cereals contains 12.6 g of pure protein.

Fats in this cereal are only 3.3% per 100 g. That is why there is no buckwheat oil, unlike, for example, amaranth.

Carbohydrates make up 62%. But these are not those carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index and are converted into fat, but those that are called long carbohydrates, which give a feeling of fullness for a long time and energy to the body.

The calorie content of 100 g of dry product is 313 kcal. Considering that this amount is enough for 2 full servings of porridge, then this is not so much.

The chemical composition of buckwheat

Due to its chemical composition, buckwheat is recognized as a dietary product. It is used not only for food, but is also widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of rutin (vitamin P), which is recommended for use in diseases of the cardiovascular system, glomerulonephritis and rheumatism. And infusions of dried buckwheat flowers are used to treat ENT diseases and bronchitis. Buckwheat seed contains:

Vitamin B3 (PP) or niacin. More than 50% of enzymatic reactions take place with the participation of vitamin B3, therefore its value can hardly be overestimated. Moreover, it is not affected by the heat treatment of the product in which it is contained. Without it, the production of insulin and cortisol is impossible.
Vitamin B1 or thiamine has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the brain and the entire central nervous system.
Vitamin B2 or riboflavin affects the level of hemoglobin in the blood. That is why buckwheat is recommended to be used for anemia.
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine promotes the synthesis of neurotransmitters and prostaglandins. An essential vitamin for the nervous system.
Vitamin B9 or folic acid takes part in protein metabolic processes, the synthesis of erythrocytes and leukocytes. That is why pregnant women are advised to eat buckwheat porridge for breakfast.

In addition, buckwheat has a rich mineral composition:

potassium;
phosphorus;
magnesium;
calcium;
sodium;
iron.

The rich and complex composition of buckwheat makes it a desirable product on any table.

What are the benefits of buckwheat

It is exactly the kind of food that Hippocrates spoke of as “food should be medicine”. What is the use of buckwheat:

Consuming regularly buckwheat in food, you can count on a good even mood, because it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.

A burst of energy and a feeling of fullness for a long time, because buckwheat is a source of easily digestible vegetable protein and long carbohydrates.

Losing excess weight, due to the unique properties of buckwheat, influence the production of insulin in a strictly defined amount. An excess of insulin causes a feeling of hunger, when there is little of it in the blood and the conversion of sugar into glycogen occurs gradually, then it is transported to the cells, and not to the fat depot.

Buckwheat contains lipotropic substances that prevent the degeneration of liver tissue into fatty tissue. With regular use of buckwheat porridge, fatty hepatosis does not threaten you.

Consuming buckwheat on an ongoing basis guarantees a high level of hemoglobin, which means a full supply of oxygen to all cells.

Even what has already been said about the benefits of introducing buckwheat cereal into the diet is enough to seriously think about one meal per day consisting of buckwheat cereals.

Buckwheat porridge recipes

Before moving on to the recipes, we want to draw your attention to some points:

When choosing buckwheat, it is better if it is a dark green unground. The benefits of such porridge will be maximum.

It is necessary to store buckwheat groats in tightly closed containers, because it absorbs odors and moisture.

Buckwheat is poured with cold water and heated to a boil. Do not put it in boiling water.

Recipe number 1. Loose buckwheat porridge

If you have chosen a dark green kernel for porridge, then it is good to soak it in advance for a couple of hours in warm boiled water. And when she absorbs all the water, start cooking porridge. For 2 servings you will need.

ingredients:

buckwheat groats – 100 g.
water – 300 ml.
salt – 0.5 tsp;
sugar – 0.5 tsp;
vegetable oil – 20 ml;
butter – 30 g.

Cooking method:

Place the washed cereal in a thick-walled ceramic coated dish and pour it over with water.
Add vegetable oil and salt, put on fire and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat as much as possible and cook porridge under a tightly closed lid until all the water has boiled away.
At the end of cooking, add butter and sugar, mix thoroughly, turn off the heat and let the porridge brew for 10-15 minutes.
The calorie content of one serving of such porridge will not exceed 210 kcal.

Recipe number 2. Buckwheat porridge with milk

In fact, buckwheat milk porridge is first boiled in water, and milk is added to the already boiled cereal. For 2 servings you need the following

Ingredients:

buckwheat groats – 100 g;
milk – 100 ml;
water – 100 ml;
salt and sugar to taste;
butter – 30g.

Cooking method:

Sort the groats and rinse, place in a thick-walled dish and pour water.
Put it on fire and bring to a boil, cook over very low heat until all the water has evaporated.
Pour buckwheat with milk and bring to a boil again. Boil for 5 minutes, add salt, sugar and butter and, closing the lid and turning off the heat, let it brew for 10-15 minutes.
The calorie content of one serving will be within 240 kcal.

Recipe number 3. Buckwheat porridge in a slow cooker

Cooking buckwheat porridge in the usual way is extremely simple, but a slow cooker simplifies even this process. Happy owners of this unit can calmly go about their business until the final signal of the timer, and even after it, giving the porridge the opportunity to brew. For 4 servings you will need

ingredients:

buckwheat – 200g;
water – 500 ml;
salt and sugar to taste;
vegetable oil – 20g:
butter – 40 g.

Cooking method:

Sort out and rinse the groats.
Place all the ingredients in the multicooker bowl, close the lid and turn on the unit by selecting the “porridge” mode.
Wait for the timer signal, and then let the porridge brew for another 15 minutes.

In any of the recommended buckwheat cereals, you can add fillers from fruits, stewed vegetables or finely chopped greens. You can’t spoil our porridge with such additives.