Magnolias

Ingredients

• General & History
• Buckwheat
• Rhubarb
• Sorrel
• Health & Nutrition
• Links - to information on Amaranths

Buckwheat - [Gretchka (Russia), Fagopyrum esculentum]
These tiny three sided pyramidal seeds, about 0.15 inches long, are incorrectly called "kasha" in the U.S. - in Russia "kasha" is any grain cooked to a porridge consistency. Buckwheat was so important to Russians that an early Russian Olympic team, when they found they couldn't get grechnevaya kasha in Paris, packed up and went home.

Buckwheat is sold as "groats", the edible part of the seed after the fibrous hull has been removed. The photo shows roasted groats to the left, the way they're usually sold in the U.S. and unroasted to the right (purchased from a Korean grocery in Los Angeles). Buckwheat is also sold ground into flour, which is mixed with wheat flour to make buckwheat pancakes in the U.S. and soba noodles in Japan. Buckwheat greens are toxic to humans, but sprout enthusiasts do sprout the seeds and eat them at four to five days of growth. Buckwheat is also sprouted and malted to make gluten free beer for those allergic to gluten. Details & Cooking

Rhubarb - [pie plant, Rheum rhabarbarum and Rheum rhaponticum]
Native to northern Central Asia, rhubarb has a long medicinal history but use as food did not begin until sugar became affordable in 17th century England. It is primarily used for pie filling and combined with strawberries for jam. Only the leaf stems (petioles) are used, the leaves containing so much oxalic acid they are considered toxic - though you'd probably have to eat about 10 pounds to kill you. The photo specimen stalks are medium size at about 16 inches long.

Sorrel - [spinach dock; Ambada Bhaji, Gongoora (India), Rumex acetosa]
Sorrel grows wild over much of Europe and is a common crop there. Despite being called for by many recipes sorrel is largely unavailable in Southern California even at farmer's markets, though I do find it in a market serving a Russian community. The scarcity is probably due to perishability, it needs to get from field to table very promptly before it wilts. Spinach is considered an imperfect substitute because its flavor is more complex and it isn't nearly as tart. Sorrel's taste is almost exactly that of the unrelated Wood Sorrel. As with spinach, sorrel's tartness is provided by oxalic acid. Photo by Burschik licensed under GNU Free Document License v1.2 or later.

Sorrel and Rhubarb are made tart by oxalic acid, a substance that inhibits absorption of those nutrients by the body. In the case of rhubarb the acid level is so high in the leaves they are not used, only the stems. Oxalic acid can contribute to formation of kidney stones and gout but is only one of many contributing factors and probably not the strongest. Because these vegetables are generally consumed infrequently and in small quantity the oxalic acid content should not be a problem.

Buckwheat greens are toxic to humans, causing a number of symptoms including extreme skin sensitivity to sunlight. Sprout enthusiasts do eat buckwheat sprouts at 4 to 5 days and they seem to be OK, at least in modest quantities.