The very name of buckwheat is very transparent hints at its Byzantine origin. That is why many people really believe that Greece is the birthplace of buckwheat.
However, this is a delusion . Her homeland - not Greece and not Byzantium, but the Himalayas. By the way, buckwheat - not cereal, as many people think, but it is in the closest relationship with sorrel and rhubarb.
For the first time this culture began to be cultivated about 6 thousand years ago in Southeast Asia. In different countries it was called in its own way - as a rule, by the name of the country from which it was brought. For example, in Greece and Italy, buckwheat became a "Turkish corn", French, Spanish and Portuguese - "Saracen" or "Arab", Finns - "Tatar", and in Germany - "pagan". In India buckwheat was called "black rice", in some other countries - "black wheat".
Americans and English call buckwheat buckweat , which translates as "deer wheat". The field on which buckwheat grows, looks like a crouching green carpet with delicate yellow flowers. And what a sweet fragrance! It's not for nothing that always bees are visibly invisible. In France buckwheat is grown solely for the sake of honey. Buckwheat honey is considered to be the best - the most delicious and most useful - and is used as an effective remedy for colds and flu. But this is the end of love for buckwheat among the French, like other Europeans. And in vain ... We have this culture grown on large areas, despite the fact that getting a buckwheat crop is not so easy.
Our porridge
Our ancestors called the grains of this culture "buckwheat", because they came to Kievan Rus from Greece. They got drunk and got used to being in our kitchen as if they were relatives. In the area of consumption of buckwheat, the Slavs are undoubtedly "ahead of the whole planet." This is our age-old product, which means that it is the most useful for us. After all, not only porridge, but also many other national dishes - pancakes, pies and soups - is prepared precisely from buckwheat. In Russia there was even such a belief that buckwheat must be eaten on the eve of serious trials - because it gives a person remarkable strength and special ingenuity. Is buckwheat groats a pledge of youth and excellence for our body?
Undoubtedly!
In addition to the Slavs, buckwheat porridge is still respected by Asians. You will not believe, however, after her in the Land of the Rising Sun, many villages, rivers and railway stations are named. Japanese eat, though not porridge, and their special noodles from buckwheat flour. And for Koreans, not a single holiday can do without sae-mes - traditional buns from buckwheat flour. The Chinese also make from it even chocolate, jam and liqueurs.
Today buckwheat porridge can not be considered poor people's food. It is prepared in the most expensive restaurants. Ordering it has become even fashionable, since the love of buckwheat porridge is a vivid manifestation of proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
Which is the most useful?
Buckwheat groats are of two kinds - the kernel and the cut. Both are produced from buckwheat grain by the separation of the fruit shells. The kernel is a whole buckwheat kernel, and the perforation is the core, split into parts. Therefore, if you want your cereal to turn friable, it's better to take the jade.
Steamed buckwheat groats have a beautiful shade, a pleasant aroma that brightly manifests already in the finished porridge, and in addition, the steamed cereal is much faster brewed.
In 100 grams of non-fried buckwheat groats 320% more B vitamins, 107% vitamin PP and about 100% more calcium and zinc (data are presented on the basis of laboratory-chemical analysis of non-fried buckwheat groats). In 100 grams of buckwheat contains a third of the daily amount of iron needed for the human body.
Uneaten buckwheat groats are one of the few cereals suitable for both normal and dietary meals. Useful and nutritious, it is available all year round and is a worthy alternative to rice. Many people, having tried buckwheat porridge, say that buckwheat groats are pledge of youth and perfection for the whole organism.
Buckwheat, as well as non-roasted buckwheat groats are suitable not only for cereals, but for groats, as well as for baked ducks, geese and piglets stuffed with buckwheat.
How to choose it
When choosing buckwheat, pay attention to its grade and appearance. The highest quality - the highest grade. In the first grade, there are slightly more weedy impurities from the broken grain.
When buying buckwheat, you should choose the most pale, as the reddish croup probably has already undergone high-temperature processing, and therefore, alas, has lost most of its useful qualities.
If at home, having unpacked the bag of buckwheat, you felt moldy or some other foreign smell, it means that the groats are spoiled, and you have every right to return it to the store. Store buckwheat groats best in glass or ceramic dishes, but not too long, because over time, its taste is noticeably spoiled, and the nutritional qualities are sharply reduced.
Buckwheat: the secrets of cooking
The great culinary expert William Pokhlebkin complained that cooking porridge seems too simple a thing. So they prepare "for a chance". The famous chef gave some practical advice for preparing a guaranteed delicious cereal. For each unit of volume, grains take twice as much water, cover a pot or pot with a porridge with a dense lid, cook first on high heat, then on a small one, and at the end again on a strong one, until the water evaporates completely. And one more secret of the master is not to open the lid during cooking, because for the porridge it is important not so much water as steam.