Buckwheat at Stone Barns Center

In addition to the one-hour elective classes we offer to Stone Barns and Blue Hill staff every Wednesday, small groups have been collaborating within the Innovation Labs to explore solutions to local problems. Crop Farmer Grace Jorgensen worked in the Bakery & Mill Lab to research the growth and application of buckwheat; in this video, Grace explains why buckwheat is a useful crop to grow on the farm.
Pamela Brown, Deputy Director of Communications & Marketing, looked into the consumer marketing of buckwheat, discovering that buckwheat flour and groats are often relegated to the international and allergen-alternative aisles of the grocery store, with recipes rarely stretching beyond pancakes. But there's a whole world of buckwheat cooking to explore, with family-friendly recipes like poppyseed walnut bread (h/t to the legendary @thebirkettmills for the recipe and Pam's daughter, Izzy, for giving it the preschool stamp of approval) and dazzling creations from Blue Hill's chefs like buckwheat crepe shuffle and buckwheat ice cream.
Do you want to help create a market for small-scale farmers to grow the incredibly versatile and useful buckwheat? Then join us in finding buckwheat at your local market, and let us know what you make with it!

[@lauraperkins504]

Thanks for this! So interesting about the relationship of buckwheat and phosphorus availability in the soil! Especially with fertilizers getting so expensive, and the growing realization of the effect of excess phosphorus in the soil on waterways, perhaps the time for buckwheat has come!