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A superfood with many names
A superfood with many names 1
If you were invited to a Carinthian farmer’s kitchen sometime around the 16th or 17th centuries you would be surprised to see what was on the kitchen table. In the early morning, with coffee, buckwheat was served. In the late morning you could eat soup (milk or buttermilk) - also with buckwheat. Based on the season, you could eat buckwheat refined with fruits like cherries or blackberries. It was a very popular and practical meal, as steaming in the water, it only took a few minutes to cook. Buckwheat was harvested usually twice a year because it grows so quickly.
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Depending on the region, buckwheat is called Heiden, Heda, Hadn or Ajda (as you can encounter it now in Slovenia). Another common name is black polenta. While it originated from Central Asia, in the Middle Ages the cold-sensitive Hadn spread in the warmer southern Alpine region too. Finally finding its way to Carinthia, it was initially grown in large quantities in the Jauntal valley. Unfortunately buckwheat was largely displaced in the 19th and 20th centuries by maize, potato and wheat. Only in the past few years can you see buckwheat growing more frequently in the region again. Hadn is actually not a type of grain, but belongs to the knotweed family and is a close relative of sorrel and rhubarb. This plant thrives on poor soil and does not like artificial fertilizers and manure at all. Buckwheat is particularly rich in potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, silica and vitamins - and it’s gluten free. For the eye it offers vivid pink and white sea of flowers beautifully decorating the landscape of Lower Carinthia.
Since 1997, the “Genussregion Jauntaler Hadn”, an association of farmers, innkeepers and the dedicated community of Neuhaus, promotes buckwheat in several ways. They wrote a book (with a lot of recipes), organised festivals, and even opened a visitor center with an impressive wooden hand mill in the heart of it. So you can buy Hadn cake, nudel, chips, and the traditional porridge, sterz - or you can make your own meal from the flour grinded here.
A snow castle for King Matjaž
