Buckwheat honey has a deep, dark brown color, strong, pungent, molasses like earthy flavor and is high in mineral content and antioxidant compounds.
Raw buckwheat honey from The Mohawk Valley Trading Company has not been heated, filtered, blended or processed. All of the pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals and aromatics are in the same condition as they were in the hive.
Buckwheat seeds are also used or making gluten free flour and buckwheat blossoms are an excellent source of nectar and blooming can continue well into the autumn.
Buckwheat hulls are used as filling for pillows and zafu. The hulls are durable and do not conduct or reflect heat as much as synthetic fills and they are an excellent substitute to feathers for people with allergies. However, buckwheat hull pillows made with uncleaned and unprocessed hulls contain high levels of allergens that may trigger an asthma attack in those who are at risk.
Buckwheat is neither a grass nor wheat, but is a fruit related to rhubarb and is one of the first crops cultivated in the United States. Dutch colonists brought buckwheat to North America where they planted it along the Hudson River. Buckwheat was sometimes called beechwheat, because its seeds look like small beech nuts. Buckwheat was an important crop in the U.S. until the demand declined in the 1960’s. Today, it is primarily grown in Northern states such as New York, which is where our buckwheat apiaries are located.