Top Health Food - Buckwheat

We are fortunate to see so many international foods in our general shops.  Most large supermarkets now have individual sections for the various continents which cater for  people’s curiosity, otherwise specialist shops do it on-line. 

I first came across buckwheat while in Singapore in the food court section of a shopping mall.  With noodles as a staple of the Asian diet, there was a fantastic restaurant that did just noodles and its USP was the front kitchen which was in full view of the general public.  There, in all its splendour was the noodle expert i.e. the chef.  In a food court you always gather round the place which has the biggest crowds and this was no exception.  Even if you don't like to eat it, watching noodles being made is an art form!

Buckwheat has been around for ages in the Far East, probably centuries but it is becoming more recognised in the west, especially as a health food.

• Buckwheat is actually a fruit, a relative of rhubarb, not related to wheat as the name might suggest. 
• Buckwheat is cholesterol free and nearly fat free.  It has only ½ the calories of barley.
• The proteins in buckwheat are the best known source of high biological value proteins in the plant kingdom, higher than that of the soybean. 
• Buckwheat is rich in phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium and B-complex vitamins. 
• One cup of buckwheat provides over 20% of dietary fibre.
• Buckwheat contains a substance that lowers and stabilises blood glucose.
• Eating buckwheat lowers cholesterol by preventing it from being absorbed into the small intestine.

You can buy buckwheat as buckwheat or you can buy it in the form of soba noodles.  I like the noodles because they can be used instead of spaghetti.   It is possible to get pure 100% buckwheat although most soba noodles are a combination of wheat flour with buckwheat. Available from Chinese and Japanese food stores or good international food shops.

P.S. Don't gorge on it as you would pasta - buckwheat is actually rather filling.