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(Fagopyrum esculenta) Derived from
the seeds of a plant belonging to the same family as sorrel, rhubarb and
dock. The flour is used in Japan to make soba, the traditional Edo
noodles, long, thin and grey-brown in color. Dough from flours such as
buckwheat, corn and millet are not as elastic as wheat flour and harder
to roll (one reason why soba-making is such a skill). Buckwheat, in
various degrees of refinement, is the main ingredient in soba noodles.
Pure buckwheat noodles, that is to say without wheat flour added to the
dough, are known as tachi soba or 'silk cut noodles' after the special
cutting action required, reminiscent of the shearing motion used on
high-quality silks by the kimono-makers of old.
The darkest buckwheat flour, inakako (least
refined), is used to make the dark, sweet noodles known as yabu soba. A
medium-grade flour, seiro, is more yellow-green in color. The most
highly refined buckwheat flour (sarashina flour) is also the most
expensive.
From the endosperm of the kernel it is pure
white, as in the soba it makes, gozen soba, (gozen meaning 'to be served
before nobles'). White flour lends itself best to flavoring and
coloring, and there are a number of popular variations. These include
yuzu rind (fragrant citrus rind that flavors and tints the soba a vivid
yellow for kawari soba) and green tea (for cha soba). Other additions
include red ginger, green shiso leaves, black sesame seeds and even
cherry blossoms.
In Indian cookery buckwheat flour is often
blended with other flours such as besan or wheat flour or with cooked,
mashed green banana or potato for easier handling. Buckwheat flour is
used during the nine-day Navratra fast in spring and autumn, when grains
are to be avoaided.
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