Buckwheat

A staple winter food in the Pennsylvania Dutch region. Traditionally, the grains were sun dried in October, then the husk removed. The grains were separated, hand winnowed, then ground into grits, meal, or flour at a local mill specially fitted for this purpose.

In cookery, the flour was normally extended with black spelt or whole-wheat flour, as, for example, in buckwheat dumplings or bread. Flour for buckwheat cakes was commonly extended with a soft white cornmeal similar to that used for Mexican tortillas. The variety of corn used for this purpose was called flour corn and is now extinct in southeastern Pennsylvania. It is believed to have been introduced from Jamaica in the seventeenth century.