Soaking & Cooking
Buckwheat Groats
For Salads
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Despite its name, Buckwheat is not actually a grain and is gluten free. It is a flowering plant in the Polygonaceae family, cultivated for it's grain-like seeds. Buckwheat groats are the hulled seed.
Health Benefits
Buckwheat grain is a highly nutritional food that has been found to have a broad variety of beneficial effects.
Buckwheat consumption have help with chronic medical conditions including:
The bioactive compounds in buckwheat are flavonoids (i.e., rutin, quercetin, orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin), fatty acids, polysaccharides, proteins, and amino acids, iminosugars, dietary fiber, fagopyrins, resistant starch, vitamins, and minerals(4).
Though it must be noted that some studies have reported that overeating the seeds of buckwheat can harm the digestive function (4) - too much of a good thing!
- Buckwheat protein is of outstanding quality (2). One cup of buckwheat (250ml) will give you about 23 grams of protein (5).
- Buckwheat is used in a gluten free diet in people with celiac disease (2)
- Buckwheat has prebiotic activity (2, 3)
- Buckwheat has antioxidant activity (2, 3, 4)
Buckwheat consumption have help with chronic medical conditions including:
- Reducing plasma cholesterol levels(2, 3, 4)
- Anti-inflammatory (2, 4)
- Neuroprotective (2, 3, 4)
- Anti-cancer (2, 3, 4)
- Anti-diabetic effects (2, 3, 4)
- Anti-hypertension (2, 3, 4)
- Cardioprotective (4)
- Hepatoprotective (4)
- Cognition-improving
The bioactive compounds in buckwheat are flavonoids (i.e., rutin, quercetin, orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin), fatty acids, polysaccharides, proteins, and amino acids, iminosugars, dietary fiber, fagopyrins, resistant starch, vitamins, and minerals(4).
Though it must be noted that some studies have reported that overeating the seeds of buckwheat can harm the digestive function (4) - too much of a good thing!
Why you should pre-Soak Buckwheat Groats
Buckwheat, like other grains, cereals and seeds, contains phytic acids that can affect the absorption of some nutrients. Soaking breaks down phytic acid, making the grain more digestible (5).
I soak my buckwheat groats in water with the addition of Apple Cider Vinegar which speeds up the process as Phytic acid can be neutralised in as little as 7 hours when soaked in water with the addition of a small amount of an acidic medium such as vinegar or lemon juice (6).
I soak my buckwheat groats in water with the addition of Apple Cider Vinegar which speeds up the process as Phytic acid can be neutralised in as little as 7 hours when soaked in water with the addition of a small amount of an acidic medium such as vinegar or lemon juice (6).
HOw to pre-soak Buckwheat Groats
PRE-SOAKING WITH VINEGAR
PRE-SOAKING WITHOUT VINEGAR
1. Add your buckwheat groats to a bowl with 3-4 times the amount of water.
2. Soak buckwheat groats overnight in the fridge.
2. Soak buckwheat groats overnight in the fridge.
Cooking Pre-Soaked Buckwheat Groats
Ingredients
- Pre-soaked Buckwheat Groats
- Water (I use filtered)
- Sieve
- Saucepan with lid
2. Put the groats into a saucepan and cover with water until there is 1-2 cm of water covering the groats. Cover with the lid.
Pre-soaking the groats reduces the required cooking time. Bring them to the boil quickly on high heat, and then reduce the heat so that the groats are at a slow boil or simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. |
4. Transfer the groats to a container with a lid and keep in the fridge until required.
Buckwheat groats have a delicious nutty tang. We use them in salads, and often with curries, as a replacement for rice.
Buckwheat groats have a delicious nutty tang. We use them in salads, and often with curries, as a replacement for rice.
1. Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat
2. Noreen S, Rizwan B, Khan M, Farooq S. Health Benefits of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum Esculentum), Potential Remedy for Diseases, Rare to Cancer: A Mini Review. Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2021;21(6):e170721189478. doi: 10.2174/1871526520999201224122605. PMID: 33357186.
3. Giménez-Bastida JA, Zieliński H. Buckwheat as a Functional Food and Its Effects on Health. J Agric Food Chem. 2015 Sep 16;63(36):7896-913. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02498. Epub 2015 Sep 3. PMID: 26270637.
4. Huda MN, Lu S, Jahan T, Ding M, Jha R, Zhang K, Zhang W, Georgiev MI, Park SU, Zhou M. Treasure from garden: Bioactive compounds of buckwheat. Food Chem. 2021 Jan 15;335:127653. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127653. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32739818; PMCID: PMC7378508.
5. Ceres Organics
https://www.ceresorganics.com.au/blog/the-non-wheat-wheat-buckwheat/
6. https://pamelasalzman.com/soak-grains/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat
2. Noreen S, Rizwan B, Khan M, Farooq S. Health Benefits of Buckwheat (Fagopyrum Esculentum), Potential Remedy for Diseases, Rare to Cancer: A Mini Review. Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2021;21(6):e170721189478. doi: 10.2174/1871526520999201224122605. PMID: 33357186.
3. Giménez-Bastida JA, Zieliński H. Buckwheat as a Functional Food and Its Effects on Health. J Agric Food Chem. 2015 Sep 16;63(36):7896-913. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b02498. Epub 2015 Sep 3. PMID: 26270637.
4. Huda MN, Lu S, Jahan T, Ding M, Jha R, Zhang K, Zhang W, Georgiev MI, Park SU, Zhou M. Treasure from garden: Bioactive compounds of buckwheat. Food Chem. 2021 Jan 15;335:127653. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127653. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32739818; PMCID: PMC7378508.
5. Ceres Organics
https://www.ceresorganics.com.au/blog/the-non-wheat-wheat-buckwheat/
6. https://pamelasalzman.com/soak-grains/
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