Buckwheat

BUCKWHEAT -- Botanically, buckwheat is not a cereal but a dry fruit with similar uses to cereal. Most buckwheat used in the United States is milled into flour, which is blended with the flour of other grains to make pancakes. Ethnic dishes made with buckwheat include soba noodles and kasha. Other applications include breakfast cereals, biscuits and breads, poultry dressing, source of honey, source of medicines, and animal feeds. Buckwheat grain is highly nutritious being a rich source of protein, minerals and fat. It also contains bioflavonoids (vitamin P and rutin among them), which are known to aid in reducing capillary fragility and sparing vitamin C.