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Kuttu (buckwheat)

Fagopyrum esculentum
Hindiकूटू Kootu / Kuttu

Names: ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research

Pictures

Kuttu (buckwheat): The grain
The grain — from: "Liaoning Jianping buckwheat.jpg" by Fumikas Sagisavas, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liaoning_Jianping_buckwheat.jpg) · CC0
Kuttu (buckwheat): The plant
The plant — from: "Buckwheat field near Vrchovina in Czech Republic.jpg" by Robbie Morrison (RobbieIanMorrison), Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buckwheat_field_near_Vrchovina_in_Czech_Republic.jpg) · CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
Kuttu (buckwheat): An old botanical plate
An old botanical plate — from: "Illustration Fagopyrum esculentum0.jpg" by Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz (1885), Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Fagopyrum_esculentum0.jpg) · Public domain

Nutrition of the raw grain, per 100 g

Energy343 kcal
Protein13.25 g
Fat3.4 g
Carbohydrate (available)71.5 g
Dietary fibre (total)10 g
Calcium18 mg
Iron2.2 mg
Magnesium231 mg
Phosphorus347 mg
Zinc2.4 mg

Source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, 'Buckwheat' (FDC ID 170286, NDB 20008, published 2019-04-01; read via api.nal.usda.gov).

Every nutrient in the raw grain — 57 values, per 100 g

Energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre7
Water (moisture)9.75 g
Energy343 kcal
Protein13.25 g
Fat3.4 g
Ash (total minerals)2.1 g
Carbohydrate (incl. fibre)71.5 g
Dietary fibre (total)10 g
Minerals5
Calcium18 mg
Magnesium231 mg
Phosphorus347 mg
Potassium460 mg
Sodium1 mg
Trace elements5
Iron2.2 mg
Zinc2.4 mg
Copper1.1 mg
Manganese1.3 mg
Selenium8.3 µg
Vitamins8
Thiamine (B1)0.101 mg
Riboflavin (B2)0.425 mg
Niacin (B3)7.02 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)1.233 mg
Vitamin B60.21 mg
Folate (B9)30 µg
Folate, food30 µg
Folate (dietary folate equivalents)30 µg

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Vitamin A (IU).

Amino acids18
Tryptophan0.192 g
Threonine0.506 g
Isoleucine0.498 g
Leucine0.832 g
Lysine0.672 g
Methionine0.172 g
Cystine0.229 g
Phenylalanine0.52 g
Tyrosine0.241 g
Valine0.678 g
Arginine0.982 g
Histidine0.309 g
Alanine0.748 g
Aspartic acid1.133 g
Glutamic acid2.046 g
Glycine1.031 g
Proline0.507 g
Serine0.685 g
Fatty acids14
Saturated fat (total)0.741 g
Caprylic acid (C8:0)0.035 g
Capric acid (C10:0)0.018 g
Lauric acid (C12:0)0.01 g
Myristic acid (C14:0)0.025 g
Palmitic acid (C16:0)0.45 g
Stearic acid (C18:0)0.047 g
Monounsaturated fat (total)1.04 g
Palmitoleic acid (C16:1)0.023 g
Oleic acid (C18:1)0.988 g
Erucic acid (C22:1)0.012 g
Polyunsaturated fat (total)1.039 g
Linoleic acid (C18:2, omega-6)0.961 g
Linolenic acids (C18:3, total)0.078 g

Not detected in this grain (the table leaves it blank or zero): Eicosenoic acid (C20:1).

Source, one for the whole list: USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Values exactly as the table prints them; published values for the grain, not a laboratory test of our packs. Tap a name for what it is and does.

Where it comes from

  • Common and Tartary buckwheat are Chinese domesticates usually thought to originate in upland southwestern China. (Hunt HV, Shang X, Jones MK)
  • Earliest plausibly agricultural buckwheat: northern China, mid-6th millennium cal BP; it probably became pan-Eurasian by the 3rd millennium cal BP, spreading west via the southern Himalaya. (Hunt HV, Shang X, Jones MK)
  • In India buckwheat has been cultivated in the higher hills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim and the North-East for centuries; diversity is greater in the Western Himalaya. (Kumar S, Rattan P, Gupta RK, Samnotra RK)

Where it grows

  • Grown in high-altitude states: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal (hills), Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland; also Nilgiris and Palani hills (Tamil Nadu). (Rangappa K et al.)
  • Why hill/marginal land: copes with low soil moisture and acid, low-nutrient hill soils. (Rangappa K et al.)

In the kitchen

  • In the North-Western Himalaya buckwheat leaves make a local dish called 'phafru'; leaves and young shoots are boiled and eaten like spinach. (Kumar S, Rattan P, Gupta RK, Samnotra RK)
  • Buckwheat products are part of the regular diet of some Arunachal Pradesh tribes where rice grows poorly in the cold. (Rangappa K et al.)

Recipes