Would you be able to recognize buckwheat in the wild? Probably not. According to FranceAgriMer, buckwheat accounted for just 0.4% of cereal acreage in France by 2022. But these 38,700 hectares are already a victory, as the plant almost disappeared from French fields. Recognizable by its reddish stems, heart-shaped leaves and triangular brown seeds (now, you'll know how to identify it), buckwheat is experiencing an unprecedented craze and is being embraced by a new generation of culinary enthusiasts.

French chef Manon Fleury, one of the most prominent the moment, made buckwheat a key ingredient in her 2022 book Céréales: Les Recettes d'une Cheffe Engagée ("Cereals: Recipes from a Committed Chef") and in her Parisian restaurant Datil. In her establishment, buckwheat is present in crepes, broths, granola and even cold tea balanced by the acidity of lemon juice. "It's a plant that had been somewhat forgotten because it was strongly associated with peasant food. You couldn't find it in bourgeois recipes," explained Fleury. "Technically, it's not a cereal; it belongs to the Polygonaceae family, like sorrel and rhubarb. But I included it in my book because it's used as a cereal, notably as an alternative to wheat. In fact, it's commonly called 'black wheat' when it's made into flour."

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