Buckwheat

Russia is the world’s largest buckwheat producer, and “grechka” is one of the country’s best-loved dishes.

An annual plant of the knotweed family, 30–80 cm tall, with reddish stems and heart-shaped leaves – so despite the way it is used, it is not a cereal. It bears white or pinkish flowers, from which bees gather dark, aromatic buckwheat honey. The fruit is a three-sided nutlet; hulled and roasted, it becomes buckwheat groats. Buckwheat has a short growing season and modest soil requirements, and its grain is gluten-free.

Significance in the country

Buckwheat groats are a staple food in Russia, and their price is sometimes treated as a barometer of public mood – in times of crisis it is the first thing people sweep off the shop shelves. The country has long ranked first in the world for buckwheat harvests.

Where it grows

Grown mainly in Altai Krai (the largest producer), Bashkortostan, Orenburg Oblast and Tatarstan, as well as in the Bryansk, Oryol and Kursk oblasts; in the Far East, in Amur Oblast and Primorsky Krai.

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