Buckwheat is known as a honey and cereal crop. Richest chemical composition, magnificent taste qualities, resistance to pests and diseases make this plant in Russia one of the most popular in the agricultural sector, in our daily menu, and even in medicine.

Buckwheat is known as a honey and cereal crop

According to chronicle sources and archaeological expeditions, people learned to cultivate buckwheat more than 4,000 years ago. The historical homeland of this culture is Burma and Nepal. Wild varieties still grow in its foothills. Europeans and Asians discovered this cereal in the 15th century. In Rus', it appeared, according to one version, thanks to the Greeks who traded cereals with the Scythians (hence the name - buckwheat, Greek), and according to another - to the Mongols, who brought it during Tatar-Mongol yoke, therefore in Russia it is still called Tatar groats in some regions.

Buckwheat owes its discovery as an agricultural crop to chance. The ancient inhabitants of the foothills of the Himalayas noticed that insects loved the pale pink flowers of this plant, and birds enjoyed feasting on the grains. This is how green pyramids appeared on the human menu. Then people learned to heat the grains, and then began to cook porridge from them. Somewhere the plant was called black rice, somewhere beech wheat. Today we cannot imagine that once this cereal did not exist. But for civilized Europeans it remains a little understood food, and is often called pagan grain.

According to chronicle sources and archaeological expeditions, people learned to cultivate buckwheat more than 4,000 years ago

Gallery: buckwheat (25 photos)

Why buckwheat porridge is our mother

The concepts of “buckwheat” and “buckwheat” should be distinguished. Buckwheat (this is the correct name for the agricultural crop) is so saturated with useful substances that, perhaps, its fruits can be considered the most useful of all known cereals. In terms of protein content, it is recognized as equivalent to animal protein and can fully replace meat in the diet.

So, buckwheat is a plant, buckwheat is a cereal, the fruit of a plant.

Buckwheat (this is the correct name for the agricultural crop) is so saturated with useful substances that, perhaps, its fruits can be considered the most useful of all known cereals

The balanced content of vitamins, macro- and microelements makes it indispensable in a wide variety of diets. Buckwheat is a treasure trove useful substances, among which:

• phytosterols that regulate blood cholesterol levels;
• omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids;
• alpha tocopherol;
• pantothenic acid;
• choline;
• thiamine;
• biotin;
• choline;
• lutein;
• riboflavin;
• pyridoxine;
• folic acid;
• vanadium;
• selenium;
• potassium;
• silicon;
• manganese;
• nickel;
• phosphorus;
• cobalt;
• titanium;
• iron;
• molybdenum;
• rubidium;
• zirconium;
• zinc.

Buckwheat and its beneficial properties (video)

Honey plant and green manure

Our ancestors revered the buckwheat fruit not only for its taste. The buckwheat harvest was stored for a long time. And today, buckwheat is an integral part of army reserves. The cereal contains fats that are resistant to oxidation, which allows the product to be stored for a long time without loss of quality.

A description of the plant would be incomplete without mentioning its excellent honey-producing properties.

You need to see buckwheat bloom at least once. Its soft pink flowers exude a sweet, slightly bitter aroma. It is impossible to confuse it with any other smell.

There is always a full house of bees in a blooming buckwheat field. The beneficial properties of the honey plant, coupled with the value of the honey itself, make the product irreplaceable due to its medicinal value. Nectar from buckwheat flowers is an excellent raw material for buckwheat honey. This thick brown honey smells just like the flowers - sweetish, with a slight pleasant bitterness.

Another important property of buckwheat is its amazing weed resistance. Because of this, it is often used as green manure - a crop planted to suppress weeds. Its well-developed root system also loosens the soil.

During the flowering period, the field resembles a soft pink cloud, exuding a pleasant aroma

National product

Buckwheat in Russia is a national product along with potatoes and wheat. We almost lead the world in buckwheat consumption. Although it is popular both in Japan (where buckwheat soba noodles are made from it) and in China (where green cereals are used to brew tea that normalizes blood pressure).

When asked about the place of growth, they replace the name of the plant with the name of the cereal. Buckwheat and buckwheat are not the same thing.

The growing season of the plant in Russia is 2-3 months, so in the southern regions with a mild climate it is possible to harvest 2 crops per season.

Buckwheat in Russia is considered a national product along with potatoes and wheat.

The plant loves moisture and does not tolerate drought and frost, which is why fields near water bodies are traditionally sown with it.

Buckwheat is cultivated in Transbaikalia, the Far East, the Non-Black Earth Region, the southern regions and the Volga region. It begins to bloom approximately 3 weeks after the first shoots appear. The flowers are bisexual, collected in corymbose inflorescences with stamens of different lengths. The number of stamens in a flower also determines the number of nectaries: there are 8 of them. During the flowering period, up to 1,000 buds bloom on one plant, each of which blooms for only a day.

Medicinal properties of buckwheat (video)

Tasty and healthy

During the flowering period, the field resembles a soft pink cloud, exuding a pleasant aroma. From 1 hectare sown with this crop, bees produce up to 100 kg of selected buckwheat honey. It is indispensable in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

Buckwheat porridge increases hemoglobin - it is an essential source of rutin and folic acid, which stimulates the process of blood formation

Buckwheat fruits are divided into 3 types:

• kernel (whole grain);
• Smolensk groats (crushed kernels);
• prodel (cracked grains).

Buckwheat plays a special role in the diet.

Buckwheat porridge increases hemoglobin - it is an irreplaceable source of rutin and folic acid, which stimulates the process of blood formation. Cereals are present in the menus of children and athletes, and people suffering from diabetes replace potatoes and baked goods with it.

The great commander Alexander Suvorov called buckwheat porridge nothing less than heroic.

You can make meatballs, pancakes, and casseroles from buckwheat. Soup with such grains is not only aromatic, but also nutritious.

Buckwheat tea made from flowers is considered a delicacy in the East, and the leaves of the plant are a natural antiseptic, more healing than the popular plantain.

Himalayan black porridge?...

It’s interesting that only here we call this grain buckwheat. Once upon a time, this most valuable product was brought to us from Byzantium. The Greeks themselves consider buckwheat to be Turkish cereal, and most Europeans call it Arabic. In fact, the birthplace of buckwheat is the Himalayas. And it was there, on the high mountain sunny slopes, that they began to cultivate this most useful plant.

Nowadays, much is known about the benefits of buckwheat. It is widely used in dietary and baby food. But not so long ago, our ancestors contemptuously called it “black porridge” and considered it the food of common people. If the aristocrats had realized how much benefit there was in unsightly-looking cereals, they would hardly have so frivolously excluded it from their diet.
First of all, buckwheat is very rich in iron. Therefore, it is indispensable in the menu of pregnant women (after all, nine months of bearing a child is almost always accompanied by a decrease in hemoglobin), children and the elderly. In addition, buckwheat contains useful elements such as potassium, necessary for the functioning of the heart, calcium and phosphorus, essential for the skeletal system. This product also contains iodine, which has a multifaceted effect on growth, development and metabolism, zinc, which ensures the metabolism of vitamin E, fluorine, an essential element for tooth enamel, molybdenum, which is necessary to maintain the activity of certain enzymes, and cobalt, which is necessary for hematopoiesis and functioning. nervous system and liver.

Buckwheat is also rich in vitamins: B1 (thiamine), which plays an important role in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, B2 (riboflafin), necessary for the formation of red blood cells, for the regulation of growth and reproductive functions in the body, B9 (folic acid), indispensable for the creation and maintaining new cells in a healthy state, therefore the presence of a sufficient amount of this vitamin is especially important during periods of rapid development of the body - at the stage of early intrauterine development and in early childhood. In addition, vitamin PP (nicotinic acid), which is involved in fat metabolism, and vitamin E, which is an important antioxidant and helps enrich the blood with oxygen. Buckwheat also contains valuable proteins.

And now about what buckwheat doesn’t contain.
Buckwheat contains practically no carbohydrates, making it indispensable in the diet of patients with diabetes and suitable for those wishing to lose weight.

Buckwheat does not contain gluten, which is present in almost all other grains, so people who consume this porridge do not face a dangerous form of allergy caused by this element.

And buckwheat cannot contain pesticides, nitrates and other harmful substances that are often found in modern food products. The fact is that this unique plant is capable of protecting itself from pests and weeds. It also does not need any chemical fertilizers. In addition, buckwheat is perfectly stored, does not mold and will never go rancid, no matter how long you store it.

Thanks to its amazing chemical composition, buckwheat is able to remove cholesterol from the human body, cleanse the liver, stimulate cerebral circulation, strengthen blood vessels and the immune system.

Considering all of the listed wonderful properties of buckwheat, it can be recommended for nutrition by everyone - from infants to the elderly.

Cooking recipes

In the cuisines of many different nations of the world you can find dishes prepared from buckwheat. True, in the form of classic porridge, which many of us have become accustomed to since childhood, it is not consumed everywhere. Perhaps, besides Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian cuisine, only in Jewish cookbooks can you find recipes for buckwheat porridge. True, in its original combination - with pasta, this dish is called “varnishkes porridge”. And here are the most different types noodles, pancakes and pancakes made from buckwheat flour are loved by the Japanese, Italians and French.

Loose buckwheat porridge

Sort and rinse the buckwheat. However, now, if you wish, you can find completely pure buckwheat in stores, fortunately it is sold in transparent packages. There is no need to sort out such grains.

Pour the buckwheat into the pan. Add cold water (for 1.5 cups of cereal, 3 cups of water). Put on fire. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce it and simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat to low and cook for another 6-7 minutes. During cooking, the pan must be covered with a lid. There is no need to open it, much less stir the porridge during cooking. When the cereal has absorbed all the water, remove the pan from the heat, then cover it with a towel and let it sit for 10 minutes.
In old Russian recipes it is recommended to simmer the porridge in a Russian oven or in a water bath.

Open the pan and inhale the magical aroma of freshly cooked buckwheat porridge. Liked? Now try the dish. You can eat porridge with any oil you like. It can be creamy, sunflower, or olive. Or you can have it with milk or cream.

If the porridge seems too bland to you, you can lightly salt it and flavor it with onions fried in butter.
As you can see, the recipe is extremely simple, so do not prepare the dish for future use. Freshly prepared porridge always tastes better.

Buckwheat porridge in merchant style

Cook buckwheat porridge according to the previous recipe (for 1.5 cups of buckwheat, 3 cups of water). Fry finely chopped onions (2 onions) with mushrooms (0.4-0.5 kg). Hard boil 3 eggs and chop them finely. Combine onions, mushrooms and eggs with porridge.

Buckwheat porridge with vegetables and soy sauce

Cook buckwheat porridge. Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add 2 servings of buckwheat porridge, add finely chopped onion (one onion), 3 diced tomatoes, half a bell pepper, cut into half rings, and 3 tablespoons of classic soy sauce. Simmer over low heat for 7 minutes. The finished dish can be served on its own or as a side dish for meat or poultry.

Buckwheat groats with cottage cheese

Fry the buckwheat a little in a dry frying pan, and then pour it into boiling water (for 2 cups of buckwheat, 1 cup of water). Add a little butter (50 g) and a pinch of salt. When the cereal swells, pour in one and a half glasses of milk and cook until the porridge becomes thick, and then leave it to cool. Mix 400 grams of low-fat cottage cheese well with two eggs, four tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon. Mix the resulting mass with the cooled porridge and place in a mold greased with butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Place small pieces of butter on top. Place the pan in the oven and bake. Krupenik can be served with sour cream or jam.

Uzbek buckwheat pilaf

This pilaf is prepared in the same way as the traditional one with rice. But buckwheat, unlike rice, is not soaked before being put into the container, but fried in butter. And garlic is not added to this pilaf.

(I am changing the recipe to vegetarian)

It is good to heat 100 grams of ghee in a cauldron. Add onion cut into thin rings (3-4 onions). After the onion becomes soft, reduce the heat, add spices (barberry, coriander seeds, red pepper) and carrots cut into large strips (2-3 pieces). The zervak ​​needs to be salted, and so that it is slightly salted. Then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, put a tablespoon of melted butter (or butter) in a heated frying pan and fry buckwheat groats (300 g) in it, stirring constantly. Then you need to put the buckwheat in a bowl, add 0.5 liters of boiling water to the cauldron, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat. Periodically you need to stir the top layer (only buckwheat) and taste the cereal. When the cereal has completely swollen, turn off the heat, stir the pilaf and place it in a heap on a dish.

Buckwheat porridge for babies

For the little ones, buckwheat can be ground in a coffee grinder before cooking. Then the porridge will turn out tender.

Pour the crushed cereal into the boiling milk in a thin stream, stirring continuously. This porridge cooks faster.

Traditional medicine recipes

Buckwheat flowers have a softening and expectorant effect. Therefore, in folk medicine, an infusion of them is used to treat respiratory diseases and dry cough.

Place 5 g of buckwheat flowers in an enamel or porcelain bowl, pour in 0.5 liters of boiling water, close with a lid and leave for 2 hours. Take 100 ml infusion 3-4 times a day as an expectorant. The infusion also helps with sclerosis, has a general strengthening effect on the body, removes toxins and radioactive substances from it.

If you apply a poultice from the leaves of this plant to wounds, they speed up the healing of wounds, boils, and soften abscesses.

In addition, buckwheat is an excellent honey plant. And all the beneficial substances contained in it are also present in buckwheat honey. No wonder it is considered the richest honey in vitamins and minerals.

In folk medicine, buckwheat honey is used in the treatment of anemia, for cleansing the liver and bile ducts, for diseases of the thyroid gland, cardiovascular diseases, vitamin deficiency and as a general tonic.

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William Vasilyevich Pokhlebkin is a scientist, historian, culinary specialist; almost every one of the 50 books and articles he wrote can be safely placed in your favorites. As we know, writers and scientists are mainly engaged in professionally confusing the goyish population of the planet. William Pokhlebkin spent his whole life, until he was killed, in unraveling. He, himself possessing a bright head and clear thinking, perfectly described everything he touched. You can throw away all the cookery books, keep only Pokhlebkin and read nothing else. He thoroughly got to the bottom of everything, and was able to clearly and logically describe the subject in simple language.

The Ivers do not favor him. The emphasis is shifted, there is not even a link to his work on Stalin “The Great Pseudonym”, and the main link from there goes to the site pokhlebkin.ru (as they write “a site dedicated to V.V. Pokhlebkin, the author of many books and articles about cooking”). Let's go and take a look - this domain is occupied by the Ivers - there is not a word about Pokhlebkin, they bought him and are holding him as ballast.
All this indirectly suggests that Pokhlebkin needs to be studied in detail.

We need to write a separate article about this worthy man. In the meantime, see for yourself, using the example of this article of his about buckwheat, the clarity of his mind, independent scientific approach and state of mind. At the same level, he wrote about Stalin, the history of Rus', cooking...

William Vasilievich Pokhlebkin
THE HARD FATE OF RUSSIAN BUCKWHEAT

The article - about buckwheat and buckwheat - appeared in the critical summer of 1990. Its immediate cause was the complete disappearance of buckwheat from sale and a special order from the Ministry of Food Industry and the Ministry of Health on the distribution of this valuable and rare product exclusively to patients with diabetes according to certificates from clinics. It turned out that in the country, which until recently stood first in the world in the production of this cereal, either there are a lot of people with diabetes, or there is very little cereal! This rare situation prompted the author to investigate how things really stood. The result of the scientific investigation was an article published on June 22, 1990 in the Week.

Among the long list of scarce products of past years, perhaps, in the first place both “in terms of experience”, and in terms of the well-deserved love of the people who yearned for it, and, finally, in terms of objective culinary and nutritional qualities, there was undoubtedly buckwheat.

From a purely historical point of view, buckwheat is a truly Russian national porridge, our second most important national dish. “Soup cabbage soup and porridge are our food.” “Porridge is our mother.” “Buckwheat porridge is our mother, and rye bread is our father.” All these sayings have been known since ancient times. When the word “porridge” appears in the context of Russian epics, songs, legends, parables, fairy tales, proverbs and sayings, and even in the annals themselves, it always means buckwheat porridge, and not some other kind.

In a word, buckwheat is not just a food product, but a kind of symbol of Russian national identity, because it combines those qualities that have always attracted the Russian people and which they considered their national ones: ease of preparation (pour in water, boil without disturbing), clarity in proportions (one part of cereal to two parts of water), availability (buckwheat was always in abundance in Russia from the 10th to the 20th centuries) and low cost (half the price of wheat). As for the satiety and excellent taste of buckwheat porridge, they are generally recognized and have become proverbs.

So, let's get to know buckwheat. Who is she? Where and when was you born? Why does he have such a name, etc. and so on.

The botanical homeland of buckwheat is our country, or more precisely, Southern Siberia, Altai, Mountain Shoria. From here, from the foothills of Altai, buckwheat was brought to the Urals by the Ural-Altai tribes during the migration of peoples. Therefore, the European Cis-Urals, the Volga-Kama region, where buckwheat temporarily settled and began to spread throughout the first millennium AD and almost two or three centuries of the second millennium as a special local culture, became the second homeland of buckwheat, again on our territory. And finally, after the beginning of the second millennium, buckwheat finds its third homeland, moving to areas of purely Slavic settlement and becoming one of the main national porridges and, therefore, the national dish of the Russian people (two black national porridges - rye and buckwheat).

Thus, in the vast space of our country, the entire history of the development of buckwheat unfolded over two and even two and a half millennia and its three homelands are located - botanical, historical and national-economic.

Only after buckwheat had become deeply rooted in our country did it begin, starting in the 15th century, to spread throughout Western Europe, and then in the rest of the world, where it seems that this plant and this product came from the East, although different peoples define this “east” in different ways. In Greece and Italy, buckwheat was called “Turkish grain”, in France and Belgium, Spain and Portugal - Saracen or Arabic, in Germany it was considered “pagan”, in Russia - Greek, since initially in Kievan and Vladimir Rus' buckwheat was cultivated in monasteries mainly by Greeks monks, people more knowledgeable in agronomy, who determined the names of crops. The churchmen did not want to know that from time immemorial buckwheat had been cultivated in Siberia, the Urals and the vast Volga-Kama region; They categorically attributed the honor of “discovering” and introducing this beloved Russian culture to themselves.

When, in the second half of the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus gave buckwheat the Latin name “fagopyrum” - “beech-like nut”, because the shape of the seeds and grains of buckwheat resembled beech tree nuts, then in many German-speaking countries - Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark - Buckwheat began to be called “beech wheat.”

It is noteworthy, however, that buckwheat porridge did not become widespread as a dish in Western Europe. Apart from Great Russia itself, buckwheat was cultivated only in Poland, and even then after its annexation to Russia at the end of the 18th century. And so it happened that the entire Kingdom of Poland, as well as the Vilna, Grodno and Volyn provinces that were not included, but adjacent to it, became one of the main centers for the cultivation of buckwheat in Russian Empire. And therefore, it is quite understandable that with their fall from Russia after the First World War, buckwheat production in the USSR and the USSR’s share in world buckwheat exports decreased. However, even after this, our country provided 75% or more of world buckwheat production back in the 20s. In absolute numbers, the situation with the production of marketable buckwheat grain (cereals) has been this way over the past hundred years.

IN late XIX– at the beginning of the 20th century, a little more than 2 million hectares, or 2% of arable land, were occupied with buckwheat in Russia per year. The harvest amounted to 73.2 million poods, or according to current measures - 1.2 million tons of grain, of which 4.2 million poods were exported abroad, not in the form of grain, but mainly in the form of buckwheat flour, but in round 70 million poods went exclusively for domestic consumption. And for 150 million people then this was quite enough. This situation, after the loss of the fallen lands under buckwheat in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, was restored by the end of the 20s. In 1930-1932, the area under buckwheat was expanded to 3.2 million hectares and already amounted to 2.81 sown areas. Grain harvests amounted to 1.7 million tons in 1930-1931, and 13 million tons in 1940, i.e., despite a slight drop in yields, overall the gross harvest was higher than before the revolution, and buckwheat was constantly in sale. Moreover, wholesale, purchase and retail prices for buckwheat in the 20-40s were the lowest among other grains in the USSR. So, wheat was 103-108 kopecks. per pound, depending on the region, rye - 76-78 kopecks, and buckwheat - 64-76 kopecks, and it cost the least in the Urals. One reason for low domestic prices was the fall in world buckwheat prices. In the 20-30s, the USSR exported only 6-8% of the gross harvest, and even then it was forced to compete with the USA, Canada, France and Poland, which also supplied buckwheat flour to the world market, while whole grains were on the world market. was not quoted on the market.

Even in the 30s, when wheat flour rose in price in the USSR by 40%, and rye flour by 20%, buckwheat groats rose in price by only 3-5%, which, given its overall low cost, was almost unnoticeable. And yet, the demand for it on the domestic market and in this situation did not increase at all, and even decreased. In practice, it was in abundance. But our “native” medicine had a hand in reducing demand, which tirelessly disseminated “information” about “low calorie content,” “difficult digestibility,” and “high percentage of cellulose” in buckwheat. Thus, biochemists published “discoveries” that buckwheat contains 20% cellulose and is therefore “harmful to health.” At the same time, the analysis of buckwheat grains shamelessly included the husks (i.e., the shells, caps from which the grain was hulled). In a word, in the 30s, right up to the start of the war, buckwheat was not only not considered in short supply, but was also rated low by food specialists, sellers and nutritionists.

The situation changed dramatically during the war and especially after it. Firstly, all areas under buckwheat in Belarus, Ukraine and the RSFSR (Bryansk, Oryol, Voronezh regions, foothills of the North Caucasus) were completely lost, falling into the zone of military operations or into occupied territories. There remained only the areas of the Cis-Urals, where the yield was very low. The army nevertheless regularly received buckwheat from large state reserves created in advance.

After the war, the situation became more complicated: the reserves were eaten up, the restoration of areas for buckwheat crops was difficult, it was more important to restore the production of more productive types of grain. And yet, everything was done so that the Russian people would not be left without their favorite porridge.

If in 1945 there were only 2.2 million hectares under buckwheat crops, then already in 1953 they were expanded to 2.5 million hectares, but then in 1956 they were again unjustifiably reduced to 2.1 million hectares, since, for example, in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, instead of buckwheat, they began to cultivate more profitable corn for green mass as a fodder crop for livestock farming. Since 1960, the size of the area allocated for buckwheat, due to its further reduction, has ceased to be indicated in statistical directories as a separate item among grains.

An extremely alarming circumstance was the reduction in grain harvests, both as a result of a reduction in sown areas and as a result of a drop in yields. In 1945 - 0.6 million tons, in 1950 - already 1.35 million tons, but in 1958 - 0.65 million tons, and in 1963 only 0.5 million tons - worse than in the war 1945! The drop in yields was catastrophic. If in 1940 the average buckwheat yield in the country was 6.4 centners per hectare, then in 1945 the yield dropped to 3.4 centners, and in 1958 to 3.9 centners and in 1963 it was only 2.7 centners. as a result, there was a reason to raise the issue with the authorities about the elimination of buckwheat crops as an “outdated, unprofitable crop,” instead of severely punishing everyone who allowed such a shameful situation.

It must be said that buckwheat has always been a low-yield crop. And all its producers in all centuries firmly knew this and therefore put up with it, did not make any special complaints about buckwheat. Compared to the yield of other grains until the middle of the 15th century, i.e., against the background of oats, rye, spelt, barley and even partly wheat (in Southern Russia), buckwheat harvests were not particularly different in their low productivity.

Only after the 15th century, in connection with the transition to three-field crop rotation and with the clarification of the possibility of significantly increasing wheat yields, and therefore with the “separation” of this crop as a more profitable, marketable one from all other grains, it began to be discovered, and even then gradually, imperceptibly. -buckwheat yield. But this happened only at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries, and especially clearly and obviously only after the Second World War.

However, those who were responsible for agricultural production at that time in our country were not at all interested in the history of grain crops or the history of buckwheat cultivation. But the implementation of the plan for grains, and in general, was considered a matter of business. And buckwheat, included in the number of grain crops until 1963, noticeably reduced the overall percentage of yield in this position, in this line of statistical reporting, to agricultural officials. This is what the Ministry of Agriculture was most concerned about, and not the availability of buckwheat in trade for the population. That is why a “movement” arose within the department for the elimination of buckwheat’s rank as a grain crop, and even better, for the general elimination of buckwheat itself as a kind of “disturber to good statistical reporting.” A situation has arisen that, for clarity, could be compared to how hospitals would report on the success of their medical activities based on... the average hospital temperature, i.e., the average degree derived from adding up the temperatures of all patients. In medicine, the absurdity of this approach is obvious, but in grain farming no one has protested!

None of the “decisive authorities” wanted to think about the fact that the yield of buckwheat has a certain limit, and that it is impossible to increase this yield to a certain limit without compromising the quality of the cereal. It is only a complete misunderstanding of the problems of buckwheat yield that can explain the fact that in the 2nd edition of the BSE in the article “buckwheat” prepared by the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, it was stated that the “advanced collective farms of the Sumy region” achieved a buckwheat yield of 40-44 centners per hectare. These incredible and absolutely fantastic figures (the maximum yield of buckwheat is 10-11 quintals) did not raise any objections among the TSB editors, since neither the “scientific” academic agronomists nor the “vigilant” TSB editors knew a damn thing about the specifics of this crop.

And there was more than enough specificity. Or, more precisely, all buckwheat consisted entirely of one specificity, that is, it differed in everything from other crops and from the usual agronomic concepts about what is good and what is bad. It was impossible to be a “medium-temperature” agronomist or economist, planner and deal with buckwheat, one excluded the other, and in this case someone had to leave. “Gone,” as we know, buckwheat.

Meanwhile, in the hands of an owner (agronomist or practitioner) who had a keen sense of the specifics of buckwheat, looking at modern phenomena from a historical perspective, it would not only not have perished, but would literally have been an anchor of salvation for agricultural production and the country.

So what is the specificity of buckwheat as a crop?

Let's start with the most basic thing, with buckwheat grains. Buckwheat grains, in their natural form, have a triangular shape, are dark brown in color and measure from 5 to 7 mm in length and 3-4 mm in thickness, if you count them with the fruit shell in which nature produces them.

A thousand (1000) of these grains weigh exactly 20 grams, and not a milligram less if the grain is of high quality, fully ripe, well, properly dried. And this is a very important “detail”, an important property, an important and clear criterion that allows very in a simple way control for everyone (!), without any instruments and technical (expensive) devices, both the quality of the product itself, grain, and the quality of work in its production.

Here is the first specific reason why, due to this directness and clarity, any bureaucrats - neither administrators, nor economic planners, nor agronomists - do not like to deal with buckwheat. This culture will not let you say a word. She, like the “black box” in aviation, will tell herself how and who treated her.

Further. Buckwheat has two main types - ordinary and Tatarian. The Tatar is smaller and thicker-skinned. The common one is divided into winged and wingless. Winged gives goods of lower actual weight, which was very significant when any grain was measured not by weight, but by volume: measuring device always contained fewer grains of winged buckwheat, and precisely thanks to its “wings”. Buckwheat, common in Russia, has always belonged to the winged family. All this was and is of practical importance: the woody shell of the natural grain (seeds) of buckwheat, its wings, generally constitute a very noticeable part of the weight of the grain: from 20 to 25%. And if this is not taken into account or “taken into account” formally, including in the weight of marketable grain, then fraud is possible that excludes or, conversely, “includes” in turnover up to a quarter of the total harvest in the country. And this is tens of thousands of tons. And the more bureaucratic management of agriculture in the country became, the more the moral responsibility and honesty of the administrative and trading apparatus involved in operations with buckwheat decreased, the more opportunities opened up for additions, theft, and creating inflated figures for harvests or losses. And all this “kitchen” was the property of only “specialists”. And there is every reason to believe that such “production details” will continue to remain the preserve of only interested “professionals.”

And now a few words about the agronomic characteristics of buckwheat. Buckwheat is almost completely undemanding to soil. Therefore, in all countries of the world (except ours!) it is cultivated only on “waste” lands: in the foothills, wastelands, sandy loams, abandoned peat bogs, etc.

Hence, there have never been any special requirements for buckwheat yield. It was believed that on such lands you would not get anything else and that the economic and commercial effect, and even more purely food, was already significant, because without any special expenses, labor and time, buckwheat was still obtained.

In Russia, for centuries, they reasoned in exactly the same way, and therefore buckwheat was everywhere: everyone grew it little by little for themselves.

But from the beginning of the 30s, “distortions” began in this area, associated with a lack of understanding of the specifics of buckwheat. The disappearance of all Polish-Belarusian buckwheat growing areas and the elimination of individual cultivation of buckwheat as economically unprofitable in conditions of low prices for buckwheat led to the creation of large farms for cultivating buckwheat. They provided enough marketable grain. But the mistake was that all of them were created in areas of excellent soil, in Chernigov, Sumy, Bryansk, Oryol, Voronezh and other southern Russian black earth regions, where more marketable grain crops were traditionally cultivated, and above all wheat.

As we saw above, buckwheat could not compete with wheat in yield, and in addition, it was these areas that turned out to be the field of the main military operations during the war, so they fell out of agricultural production for a long time, and after the war, in conditions when it was necessary to increase grain yields turned out to be more necessary for the cultivation of wheat and corn, rather than buckwheat. That is why in the 60-70s there was a displacement of buckwheat from these areas, and the displacement was spontaneous and after the fact sanctioned by high agricultural authorities.

All this would not have happened if only waste land had been allocated for buckwheat in advance, if the development of its production, specialized “buckwheat” farms had developed independently of the areas of traditional, i.e., wheat, corn and other mass grain production.

Then, on the one hand, “low” buckwheat yields of 6-7 centners per hectare would not shock anyone, but would be considered “normal”, and on the other hand, the yield would not be allowed to fall to 3, or even 2 centners per hectare. In other words, on waste land, low buckwheat yields are both natural and profitable if the “ceiling” does not go too low.

And achieving a yield of 8-9 centners, which is also possible, should already be considered extremely good. At the same time, profitability is achieved not due to a direct increase in the value of marketable grain, but through a number of indirect measures, also arising from the specifics of buckwheat.

Firstly, buckwheat does not need any fertilizers, especially chemical ones. On the contrary, they spoil it in terms of taste. This creates the possibility of direct cost savings in terms of fertilizers.

Secondly, buckwheat is perhaps the only agricultural plant that is not only not afraid of weeds, but also successfully fights them: it displaces weeds, suppresses, kills them already in the first year of sowing, and in the second year it leaves the field completely free of weeds , without any human intervention. And, of course, without any pesticides. The economic and plus environmental effect of this ability of buckwheat is difficult to estimate in naked rubles, but it is exceptionally high. And this is a huge economic plus.

Thirdly, buckwheat is known to be an excellent honey plant. The symbiosis of buckwheat fields and apiaries leads to high economic benefits: they kill two birds with one stone - on the one hand, the productivity of apiaries and the yield of commercial honey sharply increases, on the other hand, the buckwheat yield sharply increases as a result of pollination. Moreover, this is the only reliable and harmless, cheap and even profitable way to increase yield. When pollinated by bees, the buckwheat yield increases by 30-40%. Thus, the complaints of business executives about the low profitability and low profitability of buckwheat are fiction, a myth, fairy tales for simpletons, or rather, pure fraud. Buckwheat in symbiosis with apiary farming is a highly profitable, extremely profitable business. These products are always in high demand and reliable sales.

It would seem, what are we talking about in this case? Why not implement all this, and as soon as possible? What, exactly, has the implementation of this simple program for the revival of buckwheat and apiary farming in the country been up to all these years, decades? In ignorance? In the reluctance to delve into the essence of the problem and move away from the formal, bureaucratic approach to a given crop, based on indicators of the crop plan, yield, and incorrect geographical distribution? Or were there other reasons?

The only significant reason for the destructive, incorrect, non-owner attitude towards buckwheat should be recognized as laziness and formalism. Buckwheat has one very vulnerable agronomic property, its only “disadvantage”, or rather, its Achilles heel.

This is her fear of cold weather, and especially of “morning frosts” (short-term morning frosts after sowing). This property has been noticed for a long time. In ancient times. And then they fought him simply and reliably, radically. Buckwheat was sown after all other crops, during a period when good, warm weather after sowing was almost 100% guaranteed, that is, after mid-June. For this purpose, a day was set - June 13, the day of Akulina-buckwheat, after which on any convenient fine day and over the next week (until June 20) it was possible to sow buckwheat. This was convenient for both the individual owner and the farm: they could start working on buckwheat when all other work was completed during the sowing season.

But in the conditions of the 60s, and especially in the 70s, when they were in a hurry to report about the quick and speedy sowing, about its completion, those who “delayed” sowing until June 20, when in some places the first mowings had already begun, received thrashings, bumps and other bumps. Those who carried out “early sowing” practically lost their harvest, since buckwheat radically dies from the cold - all of it, without exception. This is how buckwheat was developed in Russia. The only way to avoid the death of this crop from the cold was to move it further south. This is exactly what they did in the 20-40s. Then buckwheat was, firstly, at the cost of occupying areas suitable for wheat, and secondly, in areas where other more valuable industrial crops could grow. In a word, it was a mechanical solution, an administrative solution, not an agronomic one, not economically thought out and justified. Buckwheat can and should be cultivated much further north than its usual distribution area, but it must be sown late and carefully, planting the seeds up to 10 cm deep, i.e. doing deep plowing. What is needed is accuracy, thoroughness, conscientiousness of sowing and then, at the moment before flowering, watering, in other words, it is necessary to put in work, and meaningful, conscientious and intense work. Only he will give results.

In the conditions of a large, specialized buckwheat-apiary farm, buckwheat production is profitable and can be increased very quickly, in a year or two throughout the country. But you have to work disciplined and intensively within a very short time frame. This is the basic requirement for buckwheat. The fact is that buckwheat has an extremely short, short growing season. Two months later, or a maximum of 65-75 days after sowing, it is “ready”. But it must, firstly, be sown very quickly, in one day on any site, and these days are limited, best of all June 14-16, but not earlier and not later. Secondly, it is necessary to monitor the seedlings and, in case of the slightest threat of soil dryness, carry out quick and abundant, regular watering until flowering. Then, by the time of flowering, it is necessary to drag the hives closer to the field, and this work is carried out only at night and in good weather.

And two months later, an equally quick harvest begins, and the buckwheat grain is dried after harvesting, and here, too, knowledge, experience and, most importantly, thoroughness and accuracy are needed in order to prevent unjustified losses in weight and taste of the grain at this last stage (from improper drying).

Thus, the culture of production (cultivation and processing) of buckwheat must be high, and everyone employed in this industry must be aware of this. But buckwheat should not be produced by individual or small farms, but by large, complex farms. These complexes should include not only teams of beekeepers engaged in honey collection, but also purely “factory” production units engaged in simple, but again necessary and thorough processing of buckwheat straw and husks.

As mentioned above, the husk, i.e. the shell of buckwheat seeds, provides up to 25% of its weight. Losing such masses is bad. And they were usually not only lost, but also littered everything possible with this waste: courtyards, roads, fields, etc. Meanwhile, husks make it possible to produce high-quality packaging material from it by pressing with glue, which is especially valuable for those types of food products for which polyethylene and other artificial coatings are contraindicated.

In addition, you can process the husk into high-quality potash by simple combustion and similarly obtain potash (potassium soda) from the rest of the buckwheat straw, although this potash is of lower quality than from the husk.

Thus, on the basis of buckwheat cultivation, it is possible to run specialized diversified farms that are almost completely waste-free and produce buckwheat, buckwheat flour, honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly (apilak), food and industrial potash.

We need all these products, they are all profitable and stable in terms of demand. And among other things, we should not forget that buckwheat and honey, wax and potash have always been the national products of Russia, just like its rye, black bread and flax.

It came to the territory of Rus' around the 2nd century AD from Byzantium

Buckwheat Probably the most favorite porridge among our people. Nowhere do they eat so much buckwheat as in the territory of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, in these countries it is eaten most of all and it has not lost its popularity for many centuries. There is not a single home where this delicious and incredibly aromatic porridge is not prepared at least a couple of times a month.

We all love it, some love it to the point of fanaticism, some like to eat it only sometimes, but one way or another everyone eats it, but we rarely think about where this guest came into our kitchen, but still one day such a thought comes . And if you are also thinking about this question, let’s study Buckwheat together more closely.

Where did buckwheat originate?

Buckwheat, like any culture, has its own ancestral homeland and buckwheat is no exception. Of course, she appeared on earth so long ago that no one knows the exact date. The most likely option for her homeland is Asia; to be more precise, it is believed that she came to us from the distant Himalayas. This conclusion was not made in vain; it grows in this territory greatest number varieties of this crop in the wild.

According to excavations and writings, it was determined that in India and Nepal it already existed before our era and that was more than 5000 years ago. It was called there “black porridge” or later received another name in those territories “black rice”.

Buckwheat traveled around the world for a very long time; already in the 15th century BC, buckwheat had already reached China, Korea and Japan, most likely the name “black rice” came from there. Then she moved to Central Asia, but from there she has already gotten closer to us. From Asia it came to Europe, where it was nicknamed “pagan grain”; in France it then took root very poorly and did not gain popularity; nowadays, by the way, it has not become a favorite porridge there and is used more for medicinal purposes than as a side dish.

It was also very common in Europe name "beech wheat", buckwheat received this name due to the similarity of its grains with Beech nuts, of which there were a lot throughout Europe.

History of buckwheat in Rus'

On territory of Rus' it arrived around the 2nd century AD from Byzantium. And now with us it has acquired the name “buckwheat” or “buckwheat”; it is believed that the culture received this name due to the fact that it came to Byzantium from Greece and then it was brought from there, where it was grown in large quantities by Greek monks.

Buckwheat in Rus' is already mentioned in such a scripture as “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”. This was the first written confirmation that buckwheat was already the favorite porridge of the Slavs.

But excavations discovered earlier confirmation that the Slavs ate this porridge. During excavations at Scythian settlements on the territory of Ukraine, namely on the territory of the Donetsk settlement, vessels with buckwheat grains were found. And closer to modern Kharkov, burnt grains were discovered; the age of these grains also dates back to approximately the 2nd century AD.

Already in In the 15th-17th centuries, Rus' grew the largest amount of buckwheat, it was especially grown a lot in Ukraine, where the soil and weather conditions were most suitable for it. In the 20th century, Ukraine became a leader in the cultivation of buckwheat; slightly less buckwheat is grown in Russia.

Buckwheat as a plant

Buckwheat resembles a small bush; its leaves are quite wide and fleshy. It blooms very beautifully and many artists depicted the flowering of this plant in their paintings; it blooms very profusely with beautiful and lush inflorescences. Buckwheat flowers are white and pink color various shades. It ripens a little later than other crops; buckwheat harvest, depending on the region where it grows, ripens from mid-August to mid-September.

Buckwheat also has its disadvantages in terms of harvesting. The fact is that it ripens very unevenly, if, for example, in wheat all the grains in the ear ripen at the same time, then in buckwheat things are completely different, while the top grains have not yet ripened and there are even flowers, the bottom ones are already may completely ripen and crumble.

How buckwheat is used in cooking

Buckwheat in the form of porridge

Since ancient times buckwheat was consumed as a grain for porridge. A hearty and aromatic porridge was always prepared from it; our ancestors cooked it over fires and in ovens in pots. They also prepared steamed buckwheat porridge in jugs and pots; this method consisted of simply pouring boiling water over it and closing the jug. Gradually they began to prepare buckwheat porridge with various additives in the form of vegetables and meat. Next, recipes were invented for preparing game filled with buckwheat porridge.

Buckwheat for porridge can be whole which I call "kernel", and it also happens crushed grain, called "prodel". Nowadays, buckwheat undergoes hydrothermal treatment before going on sale and from black it turns into the dark brown we are used to.

Buckwheat in the form of flour

Buckwheat is used not only as grains for porridge, it is also used to make flour. This flour is used to make casseroles. The famous Breton pancakes are made from it, and the dough for buckwheat pancakes is also made from this flour; this flour is added to the dough for buckwheat noodles.

Buckwheat in the form of tea

This of course sounds quite strange to us, but in China Tea is brewed from buckwheat. For this purpose, unroasted buckwheat grains are used. Of course, no one here drinks such tea, but in China such tea is very highly valued.

Buckwheat in the form of casseroles

Quite a few different casseroles, both salty and sweet, are prepared from buckwheat. Porridge and buckwheat flour are used for these dishes. They are prepared with a variety of ingredients, ranging from vegetables to meat and cheese products.

Buckwheat in the form of honey

Of course, honey is not made from buckwheat grains and it is not made by people. Buckwheat flowers attract bees and they collect the most valuable nectar from its flowers. Buckwheat honey is highly valued for its beneficial properties, which are not found in any other honey. This honey, like the grains themselves, is brown in color and has a very pleasant aroma.

Buckwheat is a very valuable and tasty product given to us by nature.. Therefore, eat this tasty and aromatic porridge for your health!

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Today, few people know that among grain crops, green buckwheat is a real healer, possessing a wide spectrum of action in the sprouted state, including anti-cancer properties, studied and confirmed by scientists.

Many people don’t even know that with the help of simple methods you can greatly increase the healing effect of this plant, making it a healing elixir of youth. To greatly enhance the beneficial properties of green buckwheat, you just need to sprout it.

What kind of buckwheat is it and where did it come from?

The first homeland of buckwheat is our country: Southern Siberia, Altai, Mountain Shoria. Buckwheat was brought from the Altai foothills to the Urals by the Ural-Altai tribes during the migration of peoples. The second homeland of this grain is the European Cis-Urals, Volga-Kama region. Buckwheat stayed here temporarily. This is how it spread throughout the 1st millennium AD. and also during the 12th-13th centuries. The third national-economic homeland of buckwheat appears after the beginning of the 2nd millennium. At this time, it moves into areas of purely Slavic settlement. Buckwheat is becoming the national dish of our people, as well as the main national porridge of the country.

From the beginning of the 15th century, buckwheat spread to Western Europe. Further distribution goes around the world. Here one already gets the impression that both the plant itself and the product itself are no longer Russian. Confusion begins and arguments begin that it came to us from the East.

Buckwheat has long been considered the basis of soldiers' food in Russia due to its high nutritional value. It was highly valued by the great commander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich; he called buckwheat porridge heroic food.

IN different countries buckwheat was called differently. In Russia it was called Greek grain. This name itself is associated with the Greek monks who cultivated it at monasteries during the times of Kievan Rus and Vladimir Rus. The Italians and Greeks called it Turkish grain. The French, Belgians, Spaniards and Portuguese called it Saracen or Arabic grain, in Germany pagan grain. In India it was called black rice.

Buckwheat is divided into two types - ordinary and Tatarian. The Tatar is smaller and thicker-skinned. The common one is divided into winged and wingless. A winged species of buckwheat is widespread in Russia. The husk is generally noticeable in weight, accounting for up to 25% of the weight of the entire grain.

Buckwheat is not very demanding on soil. Apart from Russia itself, all over the world it is cultivated only on waste lands: in the foothills, on abandoned peat lands, on wastelands, sandy loam soils. Apart from this, it is not profitable to plant anything on such lands. It practically does not need any fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers spoil its taste. Like all crops, it responds very well to organic fertilizers. Buckwheat is not afraid of weeds. It will crowd them out and choke them out in the first year of sowing, and in the second year it leaves the field practically free of weeds. The weak point of buckwheat is short morning frosts after sowing.

Buckwheat is a very valuable honey plant. When pollinated by bees, crop yields under appropriate weather conditions can increase by 40%. The nectar produces a dark variety of honey - buckwheat honey with high medicinal properties. Dark varieties of honey are considered the healthiest; they are richer in minerals and have greater antimicrobial activity than light varieties of honey. Buckwheat honey is superior in quality to many dark varieties of honey; it is inferior to heather, chestnut and tobacco honey.

Composition, or a little science

Thanks to its unique chemical composition, green buckwheat has a healing effect on the entire body. Its rich chemical composition indicates its high dietary and medicinal qualities. This is real living food and a natural product for health and longevity.

The main components of dietary fiber are cellulose, non-starch polysaccharides, and lignans. Polysaccharides are represented by glucuronic acid, mannose, aranabiose, galactose, and glucose. The total dietary fiber content in the seed is 5-11%. Soluble fiber predominates in buckwheat.

The amount of lipids in a whole buckwheat grain ranges from 1.5% to 3.7% of which about 3.6% is phospholipids. Buckwheat fat contains 16% to 20% saturated fatty acids, 30% to 45% oleic acid, and 31% to 41% linoleic acid. Palmitic acid from 19.3% to 22.9%, oleic acid from 29.1% to 31.6%, linoleic acid from 19.1% to 34.8% and linolenic acid from 4.7% to 6.8% are about 95% fatty acids.

Buckwheat flavonoids are antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, are involved in many physiological reactions in the body and can help neutralize and inactivate free radicals before they damage our cells. Green buckwheat also contains prebiotics - these are substances that promote the growth of beneficial flora and its balance.

It is also important that buckwheat is one of the few products that are not subject to genetic modification.

Why do you fry green buckwheat?

This makes it easier to peel, resulting in a greater yield of the finished product and less likelihood of insect infestation. Heat-treated buckwheat differs from raw buckwheat by the lack of vitality and contains very few useful substances. Organic minerals turn into inorganic form and lose their ability to be absorbed.

Unroasted live green buckwheat can be consumed with honey, vegetable oil, in salads and green smoothies. Remember that no heat treatment will give us all the benefits from plant products. useful properties that Mother Nature herself laid in them.

How and how much to eat

It is recommended to consume about 100-150 grams in terms of dry grain (1 glass with top = 220 grams). If you have any health problems, you are engaged in physical labor or play sports, you can increase the portion to 200-300 or more grams of dry grain per day. If there are serious health problems, then long-term, regular intake of 5-7 tbsp for several months is necessary. 3 times a day.

Raw buckwheat after short-term soaking is not suitable for consumption. Soaking alone is not enough. Yes, it triggers the processes of breakdown of substances, but during this time the activity of the inhibitors cannot be reduced. You need to wait until complete germination so that the product becomes easily digestible.

Let's germinate!

Raw green buckwheat germinates quickly. Like any other cereal, it is easy to germinate. In addition, its sprouts are tastier than many cereal or legume sprouts known today. You only need to try it once to make sure that green buckwheat is alive and incredibly tasty, soft and tender :)

If you are not yet the proud owner of a sprouter, then you will need a convenient bowl, container, or jar with a special lid with holes or a cloth and rubber band instead of a lid. A colander is also good for germination.

So, take the required amount of buckwheat and wash it from excess debris and dust. It’s better to rinse in what we’ll be sprouting in, or immediately take a container from which you can then eat, this way there will be less dishes and it’ll be faster :)

Add water to the container with buckwheat grains, taking into account that after soaking its volume will double, and leave to soak for 30-50 minutes. This time will be enough for green buckwheat. Then drain the water and rinse the buckwheat again, thereby washing away substances that prevent germination and mucus from the grain. Here you can use a sieve. If you use a container for germination, cover it with a lid. If you use a jar, then close it with a lid with holes or strengthen the cloth with an elastic band. You can turn the jar upside down and place it at an angle in some container to drain the water.

Usually, it takes from 8 hours to a day to obtain buckwheat sprouts, it all depends on the time spent on soaking and air temperature. We wait for the buckwheat sprouts and wash them again. Now all that remains is to eat them :) or put them in the refrigerator to preserve and slow down the germination rate.

Summing up

On a raw food diet, green buckwheat can take its rightful place in the diet among fruits, vegetables and nuts. According to research by scientists, buckwheat sprouts are unique in composition and, when consumed in reasonable quantities, will satisfy the human body with almost all the necessary vitamins, flavonoids, alkaloids, macro- and microelements, high-quality proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates. Raw green buckwheat provides all the necessary substances for muscle growth and rapid recovery. In the sprouted state, it is rich in undenatured high-quality protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals necessary for the construction of muscle fibers. Buckwheat sprouts in combination with yoga and other health practices are an excellent remedy for healing the body.