Buck's horn plantain is a low growing, tap-rooted perennial, with plenty of thin, rather downy leaves in spring. For very little effort in the garden, as it self-seeds, you can have easy salad leaves. Leaves can be picked from late summer to early spring. If they are tough they can be cooked. Alys Fowler recommends an Italian variety 'Erba stella minutina'.
Buckwheat or saracen corn is made from the dried fruit seeds or groats of a relative of the dock plant and rhubarb rather than a cereal plant. It originated in the Orient and has been cultivated in Europe since the end of the 14th Century and produces a triangular seed. These are dehusked and dried and then ground into flour which is grey with black flecks. It is not ideal for breads but is used for pancakes and noodles.
Buckwheat flour is made from buckwheat, or saracen corn. This is made from the dried fruit seeds or groats of a relative of the dock plant and rhubarb rather than a cereal plant. It originated in the Orient and has been cultivated in Europe since the end of the 14th Century and produces a triangular seed. These are dehusked and dried and then ground into flour which is grey with black flecks. It is not ideal for breads but is used for pancakes and noodles.
Hulled, crushed kernels of buckwheat which can be coarse or fine. They are normally cooked like rice. They are derived from the dried fruit seeds or groats of a relative of the dock plant and rhubarb rather than a cereal plant. It originated in the Orient and has been cultivated in Europe since the end of the 14th Century and produces a triangular seed. These are dehusked and dried and then ground into flour which is grey with black flecks. It is not ideal for breads but is used for pancakes and noodles.
A reddish-brown, strongly flavoured honey from North America and Europe. It is traditionally coarse and granulated but is also available clear.
The most commonly found buckwheat noodles are soba noodles, made from buckwheat flour. They are long, thin and grey-brown. This is a traditional Tokyo dish.
A small variety of chilli that tapers to a point and ripens from green to red.
Fingered citron. A very peculiar-shaped citron reminiscent of a lumpy yellow octopus. It is made into candied fruit and is used to provide citron oil.
The buffalo berry is a berry which grows in the Midwestern states of the United States. It is a small red or yellow berry growing on a wild, bushy tree. It is used for preserves or to make a tart sauce to accompany buffalo meat.
