Have you ever tried cooking buckwheat only to find out it turns into a pot of mush? Every roasted variety I ever got that’s not imported from Europe is that – unappetizing mess that I have no interest in eating. No wonder buckwheat is not nearly as popular as some of the other grains that found their way on the plates of those western folks looking to expand their grain rotation from the usual corn, wheat and rice. Although to be correct, I shouldn’t call buckwheat a grain – it’s a fruit seed from the same family as rhubarb and sorrel, and is gluten free.
BUCKWHEAT IS VERY NUTRITIOUS
Buckwheat is full of nutrients like magnesium, iron, phosphorus, copper, rutin, essential amino acids, and has a low glycemic index. It’s one of the dietary staples in Russia and Eastern Europe, and is used as a meal of itself, served with meat or mushrooms, cooked into pancakes and crepes.
KEEP RAW BUCKWHEAT REFRIGERATED
Buckwheat shouldn’t be stored at room temperature for too long, it’s best to keep raw buckwheat groats and flour refrigerated. It can become rancid easily, and would taste bitter.
STORE-BOUGHT KASHA BUCKWHEAT IS TREATED TO KEEP SHAPEÂ
European store-bought varieties cook up great but unless you are very familiar with buckwheat, some brands are toasted pretty dark giving it a strong flavor that might need some getting used to. The reason European buckwheat doesn’t fall apart during cooking is the way it’s treated – slightly soaked, steamed, dried, then roasted, which makes fragile kernels stronger. I always prefer to ‘process’ my food myself so I get raw buckwheat groats, wash them and toast them in the oven, where I can control the color and taste.
WASH RAW BUCKWHEAT IN A BOWL OF WATER
If you want buckwheat that’s fluffy and falls apart, don’t skip this step! Washing raw buckwheat in a bowl of water allows broken pieces and dust to come afloat. Rinsing it in a sieve doesn’t accomplish that. Once we wash it several times and discard all the extras, we have whole intact kernels that cook up nice and fluffy.
COOK BUCKWHEAT WITH STEAM
Toasted buckwheat needs to be combined with boiling (not cold!) water, and cooked covered. One of the Russian old recipe collectors, William Pokhlyobkin, states that buckwheat should be cooked with steam rather than water, and it’s better to not interfere with the process. Adding water during cooking is a recipe for mushy buckwheat.
BUCKWHEAT IS EASY TO SPROUT
When we sprout grains or seeds, their nutritional value significantly goes up. Sprouting buckwheat helps degrade its phytic acid, which is responsible for long term storage of phosphorus. Phosphorus is a building block of every living cell, and is an element that can store a huge amount of energy in its chemical bonds.
Phytic acid affects absorption of iron, zinc and some calcium; it’s even referred to as anti-nutrient. When phytic acid is neutralized in sprouted buckwheat, its mineral content gets drastically increased making the following readily available for absorption – calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper and manganese, as well as powerful flavonoid called rutin (source).
Here is how I sprout buckwheat. Sprouted and dried buckwheat retains its shape during cooking beautifully, so if you are still struggling with your buckwheat coming out mushy, give it a try. This prune and beet sprouted buckwheat porridge is one of my favorites.
YOU CAN FERMENT BUCKWHEAT TO MAKE NUTRITIOUS PORRIDGEÂ
I often make this Fermented Buckwheat porridge. Russian folk medicine believes that buckwheat is both a healing and prophylactic treatment for heart related conditions. Flavonoid Rutin reduces the inflammation and improves blood flow in the arterial and venous systems.
HOW I EAT MY BUCKWHEAT
I grew up eating it with milk – my mom would add milk to already cooked buckwheat, like in a breakfast cereal. I love adding fried (or caramelized, when I have time) onions and shredded carrots, bacon bits, sauteed mushrooms, or ground beef. My family also enjoys buckwheat pancakes, which I make regularly. And this nourishing buckwheat chai porridge is just perfection!
HOW TO COOK FLUFFY BUCKWHEAT
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat groats (raw, or toasted from European food section of your grocery, don’t get toasted from bulk section)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter or ghee (how to make ghee)
Instructions
If your buckwheat is not toasted, preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC), rinse buckwheat in a bowl of water changing it several times until it’s clear. Drain, add a tablespoon of melted ghee or butter, and transfer to a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Toast for 20-30 minutes, until buckwheat browns and smells pleasant.
Place 2 cups of water in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan, and bring to boil. Add salt.
Add buckwheat groats, cover tightly, bring to strong boil again, reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered (without opening the lid) for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat (even if there is still some water remaining), add butter or ghee, stir gently with a fork, cover with a lid and a tea towel, and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
How to Cook Fluffy Buckwheat
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat groats raw, or toasted from European food section of your grocery, don't get toasted from bulk section
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter or ghee how to make ghee
Instructions
- If your buckwheat is not toasted, preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC), rinse buckwheat in a bowl of water changing it several times until it's clear. Drain, add a tablespoon of melted ghee or butter, and transfer to a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper. Toast for 20-30 minutes, until buckwheat browns and smells pleasant.
- Place 2 cups of water in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan, and bring to boil. Add salt.
- Add buckwheat groats, cover tightly, bring to strong boil again, reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered (without opening the lid) for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat (even if there is still some water remaining), add butter or ghee, stir gently with a fork, cover with a lid and a tea towel, and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Notes
- If you are looking for fluffy buckwheat but don't want to toast your own, get European imported varieties. They are steamed, then roasted, which allows them to hold shape without turning into dusty mush.
- Most pre-toasted varieties that I bought at Whole Foods and health food stores do not become fluffy, and do not cook evenly. I gave up on those completely.
- Buckwheat is a drier 'grain' so adding a fat like butter or ghee is strongly suggested to get the best flavor and texture.
- Do take time to wash buckwheat in a bowl of water (rather than rinsing through a sieve), it allows broken particles and dust to come afloat leaving us with whole intact kernels.
11 comments
So you dont do the egg trick? I made it this way, toasting it with an egg in a cast iron pan before simmering it. I used kasha so i didnt toast too long. but it was incredible and separated like your pics. The bone broth was a big part of it but texture-wise, i thot it was egg keeping the grains distinct.
I’ve heard about the egg white method, I think it’s albumin that helps to keep the texture. This method has worked for me so I didn’t venture to experiment. Kasha is already toasted and probably steam-treated so it should keep the texture better. But I’m sure the egg whites helped! 🙂
Thanks for the article! Why do you say not to buy from the bulk section? I already bought them from the bulk section, are they doomed to being no good?
Hello!
I wonder how to make crunchy buckwheat to use to sprinkle as part of cereal or smoothy bowl. Is is possible to just rinse them well, soak, rinse again and roast in oven?
Thanks!
Hi there, this is what I do for crunchy buckwheat: https://www.beetsandbones.com/how-to-sprout-buckwheat/ I roast buckwheat in the oven until it’s dry and turns the color I like.
Wow Valeria, thanks so much for the speedy reply!
I am going to try to make them
What is the best way to drain the rinsing water if you should not use a sieve?
You can drain through a sieve, I just recommend washing it in a bowl of water, and changing that water to remove all the floaties that come up.
Hi Valeria, just letting you know this is the best buckwheat process I have found for eating it as a rice replacement, thank you.
I soak the roasted buckweath in water overnight, drain, just bring it into the boil and turn it off. Every grain is separated, looks like opened flower 🙂 I heard that buckweath doesn’t even need to be cooked, just brind it into the boil, turn off, cover with tea clothes and leave for 20 mins or so. It didn’t work for me, was still hard. This was from dry, not pre-soaked.
Your article is very nice. It helped me a lot to choose the perfect buckwheat and to make it properly.