Of the buckwheat that is produced for human consumption, most of it is milled into flour. The whole buckwheat kernels themselves, unfortunately are not commonly available in regular stores or supermarkets.  More often they are quite easily found in most Health Food or Natural Foods Stores.

What you will be looking for is the RAW, HULLED seeds of the BUCKWHEAT plant. Depending on where you live it may be referred to as:

- Hulled raw buckwheat
- Buckwheat groats
- Buckwheat grouts
- Un-roasted buckwheat groats
- Raw buckwheat groats
- Whole white buckwheat groats

The product is available either as a pre-packed item or from the bulk food bins. Make sure that the store has a good product turnover and that the bulk bins are well covered.

Buckwheat has a fairly high fat content and so must be used as fresh as possible to avoid rancidity.

The photos below show the difference between RAW, HULLED BUCKWHEAT and the Un-hulled BUCKWHEAT. it is triangular in shape, and cream to light beige in color, tending to a light, pale green at times.  

 RAW HULLED BUCKWHEAT                         UN-HULLED BUCKWHEAT

As seen in the photo on the right the UN-hulled Buckwheat has a hard, indigestible, black covering over the kernel (this is the husk that is used to make the popular buckwheat pillows).

For USA shoppers, if local stores do not carry raw buckwheat groats. then a convenient option is Amazon.com. Just click on this link Shop at Amazon.com and do a search for “Buckwheat Groats”.

REMEMBER – that BUCKWHEAT is also GLUTEN FREE

Some stores also sell a Roasted Buckwheat often called Kasha. This is a dark red/brown color. The name Kasha also refers to a porridge (made from other grains as well) commonly consumed in Eastern Europe, but in the West it generally refers to the roasted buckwheat kernels.

Till next time, Happy shopping.

To Your Health and Gluten Freedom,
Sven

Guess what!
I’m tired Of Eating Oats. 

Yep, I’ve gotten tired of eating the plain oat breakfast I wrote about in one of my August’07 posts. (CLICK HERE to refer to it) 

Actually, I DO really still love it, it’s just that you want a CHANGE every now and then. You know what I mean?

We’ve been doing some exciting things with buckwheat lately. (NOT the buckwheat flour, but WHOLE RAW BUCKWHEAT), so this gave me a bit of an idea.

Why not use the same procedure used in that whole Oat Recipe but instead ….. make a ….

MIX of 50% whole oat groats + 50% whole raw buckwheat?  

YES!! That sounds great. I’ve never made that mix before. So I got excited, immediately raced to the kitchen, and got the ingredients together to start the process. …….. And you know what?

It’s wonderful !! I absolutely loved it!!
(Why don’t you give it a go?)

Just follow the recipe for the oats in that post, but use the 50-50 (whole oats to raw buckwheat) mix instead (or just try the same method using all raw buckwheat if oats don’t work for you). Remember, Buckwheat is gluten free.

Once it’s cooked, just add a nice “dobble” of good butter or coconut oil, a little honey  topped with a sprinkling of your personal “magic ingredient”.

You’ll be in HEAVEN!

But before you enjoy that delicious breakfast, check out the following and see some of the goodness you’ll be ingesting:

WHOLE BUCKWHEAT (Important Facts) - Even though Buckwheat has the word “wheat” in it, it has NO relationship to wheat what-so-ever. It is not even a grain. It is actually a broad-leaf plant related to the rhubarb and sorrel family. - Great alternative to rice and can be made into porridge. It is much higher in protein quality and availability than regular grains. - It is ideal for those struggling with wheat allergies, celiac or gluten intolerance, - Diets containing buckwheat have been linked to a lower risk of developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The high presence of magnesium in buckwheat is thought to contribute positively to a healthy cardio-vascular system, relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow and delivery of nutrients. - Magnesium is also a co-factor in over 300 enzymes, many of these linked to glucose and insulin secretion. - Buckwheat contains rutin, a medicinal chemical that strengthens capillary walls. - Buckwheat consumption is associated with lower total serum cholesterol, lower LDL (linked to cardio-vascular disease) and higher (health promoting) HDL . - Has a low glycemic index, therefore less likely to create spikes in blood sugar levels. - Buckwheat contains d-chiro-inositol, the cofactor missing in Type II diabetes. - Buckwheat is a good source of insoluble fiber which studies have shown can help women avoid gallstones. - Cleans and strengthens the intestines and improves appetite. - Buckwheat is noted as a possible pre-biotic, which is a carbohydrate promoting the growth of friendly bacteria in the digestive tract. - Buckwheat also has been found to contain a high content of cancer-preventing nitrilosides.

If you haven’t seen or used raw buckwheat before, my next post will give you a few tips on sourcing it and what to look out for.

Till then,

To Your Health and Gluten freedom,
Sven

Additional Interest and Information Resource Links:
1. Annual Buckwheat Festival in West Virginia.
2. Wikipedia Buckwheat Information
3. Detailed Nutritional information for Buckwheat.

I find it interesting that I tend to see lots of fancy, gluten free recipes out there, but very little of the simple stuff. Maybe I’m only one of a few who feel it is important to get to learn to work with basic, wholefood ingredients first.

Maybe it’s just a reflection of the complicated culture that we live in, but this simple approach doesn’t seem to get talked about much. So, I invite you to join me and try these simple recipes too. So much can be done with so little.

I hope by now you would have tried out the basic millet recipe in the previous post. It was a wonderful plain, fluffy millet and both Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed a nice portion of that as part of an evening meal. It was a wonderful change from what we had been having.

As we savored the subtle, nutty flavor (helped along by the nice “dollup” of real butter and a little salt and spice), all sorts of ideas came through about other simple, creative possibilities with this basic food. I’m sure you’ll discover its versatility too.

If you watched our gluten free cooking video on our July 10th, 2007 entitled “Designer Leftovers” , you’ll have a clue as to what is coming up. In fact, if you haven’t watched the gluten free recipe video there, I’d suggest checking it out so you’ll have a better idea as to what I’m talking about here. It’ll also get your creative juices going (maybe even the salivary ones) with even more ideas.

Millet Leftovers For Breakfast:
This is such a quick, easy idea, I’m sure you’ll enjoy having millet left over so you can do this too. Using the left-over from the other day, we measured out the following (very roughly):

Thoroughly stir these together, working out the clumps as you do and then add in about

Heat up your cast iron skillet (just like we showed in the video), add a good helping of Coconut Oil as the frying medium and with only a few minutes frying on either side, they were ready for the breakfast table.

[Actually, for the ones shown in the photo, I neglected to add the flour, so they spread out a little more than they would otherwise. Still great though ! - it shows that this method is VERY forgiving]

When serving, just dress it up as you wish.

The “sweet tooth” came out in me more this morning so I added a little dab of honey to each portion before eating. Other great additions could be real Maple Syrup, Rice Syrup (gluten free), Agave Nectar or any kind of your gluten free jams or preserves.

Savory toppings or sauces would work equally as well.

If you are a lover of corn bread, you’ll see with the texture of this dish that it is a little reminiscent of corn bread. Hmmmmmm. This opens up even more possibilities !!!  We’ll have to experiment with that idea and get back to you.

… Think “simple”, think “wholesome”, think “easy”… 
Start developing a real relationship with your foods.
Get to know them and they’ll be kind to you.

To your health and gluten-freedom
Warmly,
Sven

P.S. Did you know that “Millet” isn’t just one type of plant, but rather represents a whole group of seeded species of cereal crops ?  So you have many different shapes, sizes and colors represented. 

Did you also know that the world’s oldest noodles (estimated 4,000 yrs old) were millet-based ? (BBC News – Oldest Noodle Is Gluten Free)    Check out the link. Fascinating stuff !!

Most Westerners, unfortunately,  still associate millet with bird seed and it might take a little while to adjust to the idea of using it. The use of this gluten free grain, however, goes back thousands of years in Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of the African continent.

We were first attracted to using it ourselves years ago because we were looking for ways of including more alkalizing foods in our diet, while at the same time getting a bit more variety and excitement into our meals. We were surprised to find millet to be a versatile and “friendly” grain suitable for many types of occasions.

Millet has an Alkalizing Effect on the Body:
As you probably know, the Western diet tends to be more acid forming and an overly acid system means “trouble”, stressing the body’s reserves of alkaline minerals and resulting in many and varied states of dis-ease. The good news is that millet plays its part in helping to restore balance in this regard (along with most land vegetables, sea vegetables, good quality sea salt, and a list of other special foods).
 
As one of the few alkalizing grains, millet provides support in other important ways as well. To name just a few, it does not feed yeast or parasites and helps to build the immune system. For those who are gluten sensitive this is especially important, as these usually are directly related to the overall health of the  digestive system. 

CAUTION:
One other point that is important to mention, is that the hull or bran of millet does contain certain goitrogenic substances, so if you have thyroid issues I’d suggest that you follow this information up with your health practitioner as to the appropriateness of your including this grain in your diet. The millet we are using here has been hulled, yes, but how much of an influence any remaining goitrogenic substances would have on the system, is unclear.

Preparing Basic Millet:

As with any grains and seeds, it is important to thoroughly wash the millet under running water, while being on the lookout for any foreign substances, twigs, grit, etc. (if you find anything larger, write and tell us about it )

Washing Grains: Our preferred way of washing any grain is to wash and rinse the grain several times with clean water in an appropriately sized pot.

 1. place grains in the pot and cover with about finger length of water.
 2. Agitate the mixture to dislodge chaff, dust etc.
 3. Carefully pour off the cloudy water and any other debris.
 4. Repeat the above procedure with fresh water 2 or 3 more times.
 5. Pour grains into a sieve and set aside to drain.

Grit In Your Grain ?
If you have had an issue with grit in your grain then using this method provides an easy solution. During the last rinse, as you gently pour the water out of the pot, be conscious that the grit is heavier and will tend to stay at the bottom. You can carefully scoop off the top layers of grain, leaving the grit concentrated in the bottom edge of the tilted pot (just as if you’re panning for gold).

Washing Grains - A Quicker Method:
Alternatively, If you are in a hurry, or you know the grain to be relatively clean to  start with, then just use a suitably large sieve to hold the grain while you rinse directly under a fast stream of water from the tap. Let it drain and your done.

Cooking Plain Millet
(Light and Fluffy Method)

Ingredients:                           1 Cup of Hulled Millet
                                                 3 Cups of good water
                                 1 tsp good quality Sea Salt (eg Celtic)

Procedure:

Step 1: Wash, rise and drain the millet as described above
Step 2: Measure water and salt into a pot and turn to medium heat
Step 3: Place a dry, cast iron skillet (or heavy pot) on another medium flame
Step 4: Empty the washed millet into the heating dry skillet (or pot)
Step 5: Gently stir the millet with wooden spoon (see photo above) to roast till it starts to get a little tan in color and has a wonderful, nutty aroma (Usually by the time the water is boiling)
Step 6: Slowly and carefully empty the roasted millet into the boiling water (if you do it too fast the pan will boil over)
Step 7: Put the lid on and turn flame to low (using a “flame tamer” is helpful)
Step 8: Simmer for 30 min then turn off heat and let sit covered for 5 min or so.
Step 9: It’s DONE:  Now just dress it up a little with some simple color (garlic chives, chopped parsley etc.) and, of course, a nice pat of butter smack in the middle goes really well.

First Get To Know Your Grain: 
We can cover more elaborate dishes at a later stage, but for now, when you’re just starting out, it is good to get a feel for working with the basic ingredients first. Another good reason is that it helps to get over the mind-set that cooking needs to be complicated and that we have to serve complicated, elaborate dishes every time in order to enjoy our foods. Plain and simple is great too.

Of course, if you have followed these directions, you would have ended up with a light and fluffy, tasty grain dish. Now you can dress it up as you wish. As you can see in the photo, we’ve just added chopped garlic chives and a nice chunk of real butter.

This is a great accompaniment to your favorite protein, along with some steamed vegetables and maybe even with your favorite sauce on hand too. 

There is so much more you can do with this wonderful grain to expand your gluten free experience. We’ll cover more next time. Enjoy.

To Your Health and Gluten Freedom,
Warmly, Sven

Well, don’t despair. You are not alone. We have had this kind of a comment so many times from those attempting to work with this wonderful, gluten free grain. It’s likely that you did everything right, except that you had the wrong kind of millet to work with.

If you are experiencing this problem then it is likely that you have bought Un-hulled Millet.

Yes, aside from the specific variety, there are essentially TWO kinds of millet. Hulled and Un hulled. It is the Un hulled that is virtually impossible to make a pleasant dish out of. (it is that form that is commonly sold as birdseed, and not really suitable for cooking).

If you look at the photo above, I have both forms side by side. The one on the right is the Un-hulled form. See how smooth and shiny it appears ? That is the protective outer husk. Millet in this form is what certain birds are so well-equipped to deal with. Not so for us humans.

The form on the left, is the HULLED form of millet. See how it has a dull surface appearance compared to the Un hulled? This (the HULLED form) is what you want for your recipes, not the other.

It is so easy to have these two mixed up. If the packaging or bulk bin is just labeled “Millet” and you are not quite sure, then it is best to check with the store owner that you are in fact getting what you want. Easy to do and you’ll avoid the frustration of discovering the hard way.

This issue may be more clearly defined in whatever country you are in at present (it may even be a non-issue), but here in Australia it is not uncommon at all to get these two mixed up.

Now that this is clear and we have the right raw material to work with, we can confidently have fun creating some great gluten free meals for your family and friends.

In our next post we’ll cover the important basics of using millet in different ways with some yummy recipes.

As always, “To your Health and Gluten Freedom”.
Warmly, Sven