Buckwheat Kasha Is Cheap and You Should Eat It

by Emily Gould

TO: EMILY
FROM: LOGAN SUBJECT: (no subject)

I read your interview about yoga and buckwheat kasha. How do you eat buckwheat kasha? It seems like something I should eat.

TO: LOGAN FROM: EMILY SUBJECT: Re: (no subject)

Ok first off I have attached a photo because you want to be looking for something like this. It pretty much has to have writing on it in either cyrillic or hebrew. Even Polish kasha is pretty bad. Health food store or American-Jewish (Wolff’s) kasha is blech. I think it has to do with roasting. The fine print should indicate that your kasha is a product of the PRC (People’s Republic of China!) That’s because the world’s best kasha comes from Inner Mongolia!

Did I already lose you? It’s actually pretty easy to find at any Polish or Russian store, and once you start looking for these they are shockingly kind of everywhere. And it is very cheap, usually no more than a dollar a pound.

To make kasha, you need a little pot with a lid (or you can put a plate over the pot, if no lid). Put a heaped cup of kasha in the pot and fill with cold water, then pour off the water to rinse. Boil your teakettle and cover the kasha with hot boiling water by about two inches, about double the volume of the kasha. Return to a boil and add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of butter or oil. Do not stir. Turn down heat to a simmer, cover and wait about 15–20 minutes. Kasha is done when all the water is absorbed and grains are separate and fluffy (like rice.) Serve with
*more butter
*a side of eggs
*sliced avocado
*sweet-style — milk and brown sugar
or as a savory side dish, a base for stews or curries — — the possibilities, while finite, are exciting!

As are the health benefits!
* While it has “wheat” in the name, it is not actually related to wheat so is a great food for people who are avoiding wheat.
*Buckwheat contains B vitamins and d-chiro-inositol, which studies (that I read about on the internet) say can help the liver process hormones, so it’s good for anytime your hormones are out of whack (pregnancy, menstruation, menopause).

Emily Gould may sell you on lesser known Asian grains for fun, but she sells books for profit (and also for fun). Emily Books’ latest pick is Nine Months by Paula Bomer. It’s about a woman who leaves her family after she gets pregnant with her third child. It basically doubles as birth control.

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.