Despite its niche status, this grain alternative's rich history, sustainability, and versatility make it a compelling choice for my culinary adventures.
Gosh, this is so weird. I'm making my lunch. I have a home-made stock in the pan with shredded leeks and curly kale, and I've just added a small handful of buckwheat with some spices and chopped sweet chestnuts, and while that's cooking I open Substack to find you talking about buckwheat! It's one of my favourite grains. So easy. I hope your muse stays with you during this cold winter months, Jack.
I feel rather idiotic. I had never even heard of buckwheat flour before! I'm interested because I'm allergic to alot of things! Where could I find it? I love to find new foods. Can I use buckwheat flour when cooking anything? I am American and you are absolutely right. As I said, I hadn't even heard of it! Anyway, thanks!
I just started buying buckwheat at the end of last year based on your salad recipes. (thank you!) I've been adding buckwheat and it tastes delicious. I haven't yet made anything with the buckwheat flour but I want to. Thank you Jack! I appreciate your post and yummy recipes. Now if I could just get mine looking like your pictures. HA!
Oh Jack that was just the inspiration I needed! Thank you. I've been short on creativity in the kitchen lately, so that has given me a boost. I will try the cabbage one – we still have cabbages in the garden, despite the frost here.
I think we've had a brief conversation before about buckwheat: it's my go-to grain here in Brittany – the local grain, and I make fermented bread using a Sandor Katz recipe from it. I love the buckwheat galettes of my area. (Also it's one of the ingredients in the dogfood I make :-).) And as perhaps you said and I missed, it's a complete protein, which is significant for vegans; AND it's easy to grow, and doesn't mind the wet we have here. Makes a great green manure for soil fertility, too!
I've also been looking into the environmental issues around rice, so I no longer buy that except when it's grown here in France (in the Camargue which of course is already wet, so it doesn't need excess water). Nowadays I'm trying only to eat grains that come from this part of Europe. My partner eats spelt, but I don't eat wheat at all, and buckwheat does fill that gap. We grow sweetcorn, but I haven't yet tried drying it for flour.
This next growing season we're going to trial buckwheat, green lentils, quinoa (such a trendy grain, but since it grows in France I thought it was worth trying, being so nutritious), and chickpeas – I use gram flour a lot.
Anyway, thank you for the info and the recipes. All best to you for this year and creativity.
I'm so fascinated by alternative grains and need to enter my own grain experimentation era! As a big cabbage and mushroom enthusiast, that first recipe might need to happen very soon
A friend of mine, who ferments just about everything, makes fermented buckwheat pancakes that are kind of amazingly delicious and ridiculously simple. It just takes a few days.
I soak the raw buckwheat at least 12-24 hours to sprout it. (Actually, you can do it longer if you want it to REALLY sprout, as long as you drain it and keep rinsing it daily.)
I put it in my Vitamix with either a cored apple (and water for consistency) or apple juice or fizzy apple juice (that's the best) for consistency. Then I let it sit overnight.
In the morning I add a little salt (you can add cinnamon, bananas, whatever floats your pancake boat) and fry 'em up! No dairy, no gluten, no leavening agent. Totally yummy, imo.
Gosh, this is so weird. I'm making my lunch. I have a home-made stock in the pan with shredded leeks and curly kale, and I've just added a small handful of buckwheat with some spices and chopped sweet chestnuts, and while that's cooking I open Substack to find you talking about buckwheat! It's one of my favourite grains. So easy. I hope your muse stays with you during this cold winter months, Jack.
Excellent!
I feel rather idiotic. I had never even heard of buckwheat flour before! I'm interested because I'm allergic to alot of things! Where could I find it? I love to find new foods. Can I use buckwheat flour when cooking anything? I am American and you are absolutely right. As I said, I hadn't even heard of it! Anyway, thanks!
I just started buying buckwheat at the end of last year based on your salad recipes. (thank you!) I've been adding buckwheat and it tastes delicious. I haven't yet made anything with the buckwheat flour but I want to. Thank you Jack! I appreciate your post and yummy recipes. Now if I could just get mine looking like your pictures. HA!
Oh Jack that was just the inspiration I needed! Thank you. I've been short on creativity in the kitchen lately, so that has given me a boost. I will try the cabbage one – we still have cabbages in the garden, despite the frost here.
I think we've had a brief conversation before about buckwheat: it's my go-to grain here in Brittany – the local grain, and I make fermented bread using a Sandor Katz recipe from it. I love the buckwheat galettes of my area. (Also it's one of the ingredients in the dogfood I make :-).) And as perhaps you said and I missed, it's a complete protein, which is significant for vegans; AND it's easy to grow, and doesn't mind the wet we have here. Makes a great green manure for soil fertility, too!
I've also been looking into the environmental issues around rice, so I no longer buy that except when it's grown here in France (in the Camargue which of course is already wet, so it doesn't need excess water). Nowadays I'm trying only to eat grains that come from this part of Europe. My partner eats spelt, but I don't eat wheat at all, and buckwheat does fill that gap. We grow sweetcorn, but I haven't yet tried drying it for flour.
This next growing season we're going to trial buckwheat, green lentils, quinoa (such a trendy grain, but since it grows in France I thought it was worth trying, being so nutritious), and chickpeas – I use gram flour a lot.
Anyway, thank you for the info and the recipes. All best to you for this year and creativity.
I'm so fascinated by alternative grains and need to enter my own grain experimentation era! As a big cabbage and mushroom enthusiast, that first recipe might need to happen very soon
A friend of mine, who ferments just about everything, makes fermented buckwheat pancakes that are kind of amazingly delicious and ridiculously simple. It just takes a few days.
I soak the raw buckwheat at least 12-24 hours to sprout it. (Actually, you can do it longer if you want it to REALLY sprout, as long as you drain it and keep rinsing it daily.)
I put it in my Vitamix with either a cored apple (and water for consistency) or apple juice or fizzy apple juice (that's the best) for consistency. Then I let it sit overnight.
In the morning I add a little salt (you can add cinnamon, bananas, whatever floats your pancake boat) and fry 'em up! No dairy, no gluten, no leavening agent. Totally yummy, imo.
Love that grain ❤️