Buckwheat Hulls

Buckwheat has a long history of cultivation that began thousands of years ago in Asia and later spreading to Europe and the Middle East. Because the seeds look like smaller versions of beech nuts, the plant is sometimes referred to as beech wheat.

In the late 1800s, buckwheat was an important, fast-growing cover crop in the United States, with more than a million acres dedicated to its cultivation. In addition to its use in weed control and to improve potassium levels in the soil, the seeds were used to make flour and the flowers to help bees to produce a nutrient-dense, dark honey. The plants prominence in the 19th century landscape was referenced in a fable told by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, also known as the Brothers Grimm. In the story, a patch of buckwheat boasts to a nearby willow tree that its beauty of flower and graceful stature will enable it to withstand staring directly into the light of the sun, but is punished for vanity by being struck by lightning and consequently laid to waste.

Today buckwheat is grown commercially to produce flour for making pastas and breads, a suitable alternative to wheat for people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance because it is gluten-free.

The plant is also considered a late season honey crop because bees are attracted to its flowers in late summer and early autumn when other sources of nectar become scarce. It is also used as an organic cover crop to enrich the nutrient content of existing soil and to prevent erosion.

Buckwheat groats, or hulled seeds, are cooked and eaten like bulgar or porridge, while the outer seed hulls are used as stuffing material for pillows and various upholstered products.

Buckwheat hulls are favored for pillows because they are a natural material that doesn’t retain or reflect heat as synthetic fibers do. They are also hypo-allergenic and resist dust mites and other pests, including bed bugs. In addition to household use, buckwheat hulls are traditionally used to fill putuans or zafus, the round pillows that Zen Buddhists sit upon during meditation.