Buckwheat
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum common buckwheat, and Fagopyrum tataricum Tatar buckwheat) are plants in the genus Fagopyrum (sometimes classified as Polygonum) in the family Polygonaceae. They are often counted as grains, though unlike most grains they are not true grasses. Buckwheat is thus not related to true Wheat.
Common buckwheat was probably first cultivated in China. Besides the seeds, from which buckwheat flour is produced, buckwheat is also a good honey plant. The flour is made into noodles (including soba) and into buckwheat groats, often known as "kasha". Buckwheat contains rutin, a medicinal chemical.
Buckwheat pancakes, sometimes raised with yeast, are eaten in several countries. They are known as blinis in Russia, galettes in France (especially in Brittany) and ployes in Acadia. Similar pancakes were a common food in American pioneer days. They are light and foamy. The buckwheat flour gives them an agreeably earthy, mildly mushroom-like taste.
The name 'buckwheat' comes from its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of beech.
Buckwheat is also the name of a famous fictional character played by Billie Thomas in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series of short films, produced by Hal Roach in the 1930s. This character was parodied by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s in a story line where Buckwheat is the subject of an assassination attempt in which the killer is, ultimately, Alfalfa.
