Buckwheat---sometimes called beech wheat---gets its name from its interestingly shaped seeds. The seeds are triangular, resembling the large seeds of the beech nut from the beech nut tree. Frequently used as a rotating cover crop on medium to large family gardens, buckwheat is an easily grown fruit seed (often mistaken as a grain) and inexpensive to purchase. It must be milled, however, to use the seeds as a flour.
- Skill level:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things you need
- Buckwheat
- Buckwheat hulling machine
- Bowl or bucket
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1
Harvest the fruits (commonly referred to as grains) and let them dry completely. Wet buckwheat will not separate from the hulls.
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2
Heat the grain for 90 minutes at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The hulls will become brittle and come off more easily.
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3
Pour the buckwheat into the hulling machine.
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4
Run the two-part hulling machine to remove the hulls from the buckwheat fruits.
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5
Retrieve hulled buckwheat from the machine.
Tips and warnings
- Due to its unusual shape, buckwheat hulling must be done with a specialized hulling machine.
- Buckwheat hulling machines are commercial grade and typically prohibitively expensive.
