Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/253

 BUCKWHEAT (Polygonum fagopyrum L.).

Buckwheat is usually classed with the cereals, but botanically it does not belong to the order of true grasses to which the cereals belong.

Buckwheat is commonly grown in many parts of the United States, and its seed is highly prized for bread and cake making purposes. The buckwheat is ground and the outer black tough hull separated, and the flour is used chiefly for making hot breakfast cakes which are much prized throughout the country. Properly ground buckwheat flour has a more or less dark tint, due to fine particles of the outer envelope which escape the bolting process.

Acreage and Yield of Buckwheat.—This crop is not grown in many states. New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan produce the largest quantities. The statistical data for buckwheat grown in the United States in 1906 are as follows:

Acreage,             789,208 Yield per acre,           18.6 bushels Production,       14,641,937  " Price per bushel,          59.6 cents Total value,        8,727,443 dollars

Composition of Buckwheat Flour.—The composition of finely bolted buckwheat flour is as follows:

Moisture,                 11.89 percent Protein,                   8.75  " Ether extract,              1.58  " Ash,                       1.85  " Fiber,                       .52  " Starch and sugar,         75.41  " Calories per gram,      3,854

The above is the composition of a white flour more finely ground and bolted than is advisable for palatable purposes. In the grinding of the above flour the germ which contains a greater part of ether extract is eliminated and also a large quantity of the bodies rich in protein. The composition of a less highly refined flour and one which is more palatable and more nutritious is given in the following data:

Moisture,                 11.19 percent Protein,                   9.81  " Ether extract,              2.33  " Ash,                       1.53  " Fiber,                       .73  " Starch and sugar,         74.41  " Calories per gram,      3,954

Milling Process.—In the preparation of the so-called highest grade of buckwheat flour, that is, that which is most carefully ground and thoroughly bolted, the process employed is as follows: During the process of milling the buckwheat grains pass to a receiving separator which removes all the coarse particles, stones, straws, etc., by means of a series of sieves. At the same time