grano saraceno

Cultivated in the alpine valleys of Lombardy and Trentino from the 14th century, the Italian name (as in the French sarrasin) recalls that buckwheat was introduced to western Europe by the Saracen-fighting Crusaders in the 12th century.

Related to sorrel and knotweed, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is not technically a grain at all. In Lombardy's Valtellina it's made into flour for noodles called pizzoccheri and sciatt fritters; in the Alto Adige, the flour is used to make a Torta di Grano Saraceno, with raspberry or red current preserves in the centre. In Puglia, the whole grains are sometimes eaten in salads.

Other names include grano pagano (from its supposed 'heathen' origins), farina nera, formentino, fraina, and fagopiro.

Grano saraceno della Valtellina is in the Slow Food Presidium.