Buckwheat, Organic, SuperPail

Organic Buckwheat Groats, 41 lbs.

Our dehulled organic buckwheat groats are triple-cleaned and perfect for baking & cooking purposes.

Convenient & safe storage

Our dehulled buckwheat groats are certified organic and non-GMO, and comes in six-gallon buckets (or pails... another word for the same container), containing 41 lbs. net weight. When you store buckwheat at home, it needs to be protected in a couple of ways. First, it needs to be protected from a variety of little critters who'd like to get to it before you do. Weevils and rodents, for example. You also need to protect your buckwheat groats from picking up excessive additional moisture, which can be drawn from the atmosphere. The buckets our bulk buckwheat comes in provide full protection against these storage risks. They have airtight gasket-sealed lids and oxygen absorber packets that remove the oxygen from the air in the bucket after we put the lid on. The O2 absorbers leave an atmosphere of nitrogen in the bucket (because air is mainly oxygen and nitrogen). Note: If you don't already have a bucket lid removal tool, they make lid removal easy (see lower section of this web page).

Beat oxidation

In whole-grain foods, the plant's cellular walls protect nutrients from oxidation. The process of oxidation begins to occur as soon as grain is ground, exposing the cell's contents to oxygen in the air. Flour that is several days (or more) old, has been exposed to oxygen that inevitably diminishes its nutritional value. The way to get full nutrition from whole grain foods is to mill them when you need them, right in your kitchen. Modern high-speed grain mills make it fast and easy to enjoy the freshest, best tasting and most nutritious food imaginable!

Super-cleaned

All of our bulk bulk buckwheat is triple-cleaned to ensure purity and protect your grain mill from any foreign objects. (Buckwheat that isn't sufficiently cleaned may contain small stones that will damage or destroy a grain mill... not to mention that you don't want such things in your food!)

Shelf Life

Our organic buckwheat has a shelf life of 10+ years when unopened and stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

Non-GMO

All of Pleasant Hill Grain's whole grain products are natural (non-GMO). Also, PHG does not sell any grains, beans, lentils, pulses or seeds sourced from China.

Buckwheat Uses & History

While its name contains the word "wheat", buckwheat (fagopyrum esculentum) is actually not a grain and is completely unrelated to wheat. Buckwheat is classified as a fruit, related to rhubarb! Seeds of buckwheat are full of complex carbohydrates, like cereal grain seeds, and for this reason buckwheat is referred to as a pseudo-cereal grain. Buckwheat is gluten-free so it's a safe choice for those with gluten sensitivities.

Buckwheat is a triangular shaped, light tan/green colored seed that looks much like miniature versions of the nuts (or fruit) from beech trees. This correlation is where buckwheat got its name. The Dutch translation of buckwheat is “boekweit”, which means “beech wheat”.

Buckwheat can be toasted and cooked much like rice, or cooked with more liquid into a porridge. Toasted buckwheat is known as kasha. Raw buckwheat or kasha can also be ground into a nutritious gluten-free flour; the flours perform and taste distinctly different. Raw buckwheat flour is the traditional choice for Russian blinis and Japanese soba noodles. Raw buckwheat is soft enough to chew, whereas toasted buckwheat is much harder.

Raw buckwheat has a slightly grassy flavor, while toasted buckwheat is stronger and more nut-like. The flavor of buckwheat complements dark spices, mushrooms, coffee, beets, walnuts and hazelnuts, figs, blackberries, cherries and many other strong, earthy flavors.

In addition to complex carbohydrates, buckwheat is a good source of protein, dietary fiber, antioxidants, amino acids and many B vitamins. Like quinoa, buckwheat is a complete protein! Buckwheat really shines when it comes to minerals—it's richer in minerals many grains, including common wheats, corn and rice, and the minerals are easier to digest than in many grains because buckwheat has a relatively low level of phytic acid, which inhibits your body from absorbing nutrients.

The fat content in buckwheat makes the seed go rancid quickly if precautions aren’t taken. To store buckwheat long term, we recommend vacuum sealing it with oxygen absorbers inside. After opening a container of buckwheat, store the buckwheat in the fridge for up to three months, or in the freezer for up to six months.

Buckwheat is gluten-free, so we recommend combining it with a gluten-containing flour in baked goods to achieve a lighter texture that holds together well, unless you’re avoiding gluten entirely. Substituting buckwheat flour for 25% of gluten-containing flours in quick bread and yeast bread recipes provides excellent results.

Buckwheat scores medium-low on the glycemic index, which means it won’t spike blood sugar levels, making it a good choice for diabetics.

Cooked buckwheat can be made into a side dish similar to rice, added to casseroles and soups or made into breakfast porridges. To cook, first rinse buckwheat and then toast in a skillet over medium heat for 4-6 minutes until golden brown and fragrant, stirring continually. Next, simmer in water, milk or broth, covered with a lid, until the buckwheat is tender but chewy. Simmering takes about 8-12 minutes when using a 1:1 ratio of toasted buckwheat groats to liquid for a rather dry result, and about 15-20 minutes with a 1:2 ratio for porridge. We recommend toasting buckwheat prior to cooking to keep the buckwheat free-flowing (compared to sticky) and to give the cooked grain a more robust flavor.

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Shipping is just $10 for your entire order, regardless of how much grain you order.