How Does One Remove the Husks of the Buckwheat Kernel?

De-Hulling

• Buckwheat seeds are dark brown to black in color and triangular in shape. The fruit is similar to a sunflower seed, with a single seed inside a hard outer hull. At grain mills, complex de-huller machines separate husks from the kernels. Seeds are washed and graded prior to roasting. Traditionally, mills used old-fashioned stone burs to grind buckwheat to produce flour. Today, mills use steel rods to process the freshly harvested grain. Buckwheat flour is milled to meet the fiber and protein specifications of the buyer. Buckwheat flour can be milled as fine as white wheat flour or milled with small particles of hull to give it its characteristic dark color.

Grinding the Seeds

• If you grow buckwheat and want to remove the hulls yourself, the seeds can be processed in a small home grain mill. Sort the seeds, removing any stones and twigs. Size the seeds with a round-holed grain screen. Set the grain mill to a wide aperture. Test-grind a small handful of buckwheat kernels in the mill. If the aperture is correct, the kernels will be open, and there will be very little grinding of the hulls.

Separating the Kernels from the Hulls

• After grinding, pour the processed kernels through a medium-grit screen placed over a cookie sheet. The majority of the hulls will remain on the screen. Take the cookie sheet outside and gently shake the sheet as you blow off the remaining husks. Buckwheat seeds contain approximately 60 percent carbohydrate, 10 percent protein and 15 percent fiber.

Groat

• Groat is the term used to describe the hulled seeds. Groat can be eaten plain or roasted and cooked with water to make kasha. Coarse-ground groats are known as buckwheat "grits." Roasted buckwheat groats and grits are used as ingredients in breakfast cereals, energy bars and a wide range of other food products.