The "Buck" on Buckwheat

In spite of those five nasty little letters w-h-e-a-t in buckwheat, it is not related to the wheat family at all. In fact, it more closely resembles a sunflower seed with a single seed inside a hard outer hull. As such, it contains NO gluten, but eater beware! According to the Gluten Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell and other sources, buckwheat "is almost always contaminated by unsafe grains at the growing, milling, or processing stage." Sound familiar? (Oats!) Another reason to be careful--China is the largest supplier of buckwheat in the world and much of our buckwheat is imported from there. (Remember orange oily pooh?!) Yep, pretty much anything can be found in buckwheat coming from China. If you do want to add this healthy grain to your diet (it is rich in protein, amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants) then buy from Bob's Red Mill or Pocono as they are considered safe sources. You may want to consider that when buying questionable grains like buckwheat or oats, you buy from sources having the gluten free certification symbol of "GF" with a circle around it. Oh, and one more thing: don't let the fact that buckwheat is primarily used as "green manure" scare you away from the health benefits of it. It really isn't as poopy as you might think. Farmers use this nutrient rich grain to return nutrients to the soil that other crops strip away when raised. The buckwheat is not even harvested but plowed under for the next crop rotation. I think I'll go make some buckwheat green manure pancakes now.