Why Americans and Europeans Don’t Eat Buckwheat: You’ll Be Surprised When You Find Out

The first and foremost reason is that it is filling and healthy. It contains a lot of complex carbohydrates, which provide a feeling of satiety for a long time, and this cereal also contains more than 50 substances necessary for humans. These include fiber, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, 18 amino acids and much more.

Nutritionists claim that buckwheat even helps eliminate toxins and improves skin condition. Many centenarians mentioned that they eat buckwheat porridge all the time – it’s one of their favorite dishes. And housewives love these cereals for their ease of preparation: you can pour them with water in the evening, and simply warm them up in the morning – and the side dish is ready!

Those who practice agriculture appreciate buckwheat for its simplicity: this plant does not need special soil or special care conditions. As a result, grain turns out to be cheap to produce. In addition, buckwheat can be stored for a very long time – up to two years.

We all remember the cult of corn in the USSR. But buckwheat was no less popular: the Ministry of Health recommended it for infant and dietary food. Mikhail Gorbachev’s cook said that buckwheat porridge was served to the general secretary daily.

But diplomats who came to the USSR from other countries did not like buckwheat and refused to eat it. This cereal was disparagingly called “Russian porridge”. But what is the reason for such hostility?

Of course, there are differences between countries. Buckwheat is appreciated in Asia, India and Nepal; the Koreans and Japanese make flour from it. In Israel, there is a special porridge called Varnishkes, prepared from buckwheat, wheat flour and onions.

But in Europe and the United States, we don’t eat buckwheat porridge. The explanation, oddly enough, lies precisely in the unpretentiousness of the plant: buckwheat in these countries is grown as feed for livestock. People do not want to eat it, considering buckwheat porridge a dish unworthy of the human table.