Buckwheat flour that's changed to disappointingly pale and bland

[Vinlander]

I've noticed that Doves farm 'whole buckwheat' flour isn't as dark as it used to be and though it used to be delicious, now it seems to have hardly any more flavour than standard white wheat flour.

It used to be the kind of grey used in 60s school uniforms and now it is sort of pale taupe.

Any soba or blini fanatics out there who can reassure me that I'm not going gaga?

Unfortunately there seems to be no other supplier apart from organic sources at twice the price.

Cheers.

PS. I like organic - but I grow organically, so experience tells me that organic shouldn't cost much more than about 10% extra - especially since it's become so popular that the 'economy of scale' argument no longer rings true. I'm pretty sure the farm gate price is around 10% more... and even when it isn't, it still isn't going to have a much bigger influence on the wholesale cost of the packaged product. The problem is UK retail - it's out of control.

Bugger. I'm going to have to back that up...

When I've been shopping in Europe I've noticed that stuff in the street markets there is roughly the same actual price it is here. I don't mean fruit and veg, I mean hardware, toiletries, toys, etc.

The difference is that if you go into a shop in Europe you will pay maybe 30% extra. If you do that in the UK you can expect to pay at least twice the street price. The rule here seems to be much more "whatever the idiots will pay". Look what the internet has done for electricals, even clothes and shoes.

Unfortunately the internet seems to charge more for food! - even compact high value goods and despite P&P charges that can only be described as profiteering.

[PurpleHeather]

I must admit that I have never tried buckwheat flour but I know for sure that most manufacturers do alter their products. Especially if they can find a cheaper source of supply. Even from a totally different part of the world where we have no idea what is in the soil the stuff was grown in. Whose standards does it meet with?

They also reduce the size of packages so that they look cheaper or remain the same price just to conceal a price increase.

I hate it when they advertise "new recipe". But I was buying it because I liked the old one. Or, 'now with less salt', less fat, and so on as though they are admitting something you trusted was actually defective.

I am lucky enough to have the time to shop around and have plenty of shops and markets to choose from, a free bus pass to get to them on an excellent network of bus routes and frequency. So I need not spend on petrol which would delete any savings.

Thankfully my brain registers prices well too. But, let's face it if every one shopped carefully there would not be the bargains for those of us who do.

I noticed that as soon as Martin Lewis suggested we all tried supermarkets 'own brands' they increased the prices in some cases considerably and a few have stopped certain own brand lines which were very cheap.




 

[Vinlander]

You really should have tried buckwheat flour before they changed it - fantastic flavour.

If you like noodles it's still fairly easy to get hold of soba at hippy places and health food shops. Expensive but a different world of flavour - though best mixed with fairly clean tastes that don't overwhelm the soba - eg. homemade chicken broth (not creamed).

I've finished racking my brains on this problem because I'm going to try growing buckwheat this year - not to turn into flour but for a small quantity - just enough of the dark husk to add the greyness and the flavour back into Dove's Farm stuff.

I would have liked to use another supplier but  I still haven't found one at the right price.

Cheers.

[valmarg]

I bought some recently from a local healthfood shop (own brand), and like you say vinlander, it is very pale.  Very disappointing.

Shall have to look around.

valmarg

[mat]

have you emailed them to ask for an explanation for the change and your views?

[Arumlily]

Thanks for this post, I had been searching for "buckwheat flour" for quite sometime. For years I wanted to make a dutch pancake, but the recipe requires buckwheat, at the time I had no idea where to buy it. Now I do, thank you.

[Vinlander]

Thanks for this post, I had been searching for "buckwheat flour" for quite sometime. For years I wanted to make a dutch pancake, but the recipe requires buckwheat, at the time I had no idea where to buy it. Now I do, thank you.

I would definitely not recommend Dove's farm unless you can find some that is stamped with a use-by date before mid Feb 2010 - you might even get a discount!

If you want the real deal I can only suggest buying japanese soba and putting it through the blender!

I don't know what Valmarg bought but you could try the organic supplier to see if it's proper colour and flavour eg. http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/158922_Goodness_Organic_Buckwheat_Flour__500g.html

If I was making pancakes occasionally I'd try it myself but it's no good for me because when I use it for baking I use a couple of Kg a month and I'm just not prepared to fork out 36 quid extra a year - would almost be cheaper to buy the finished product!

[Vinlander]

have you emailed them to ask for an explanation for the change and your views?

I did and they accept they have changed the recipe - but they don't seem to understand the enormity of what they have done.

It needs more people to complain.

[PurpleHeather]

Curiosity got to me and I have bought some buckwheat.

It is Doves and I have tried the flat bread which is like a rubbery pancake, I only used a couple of ounces of the flour. I will do the blinis next but the flat bread was easy to try to give me a 'feel' for it.

I seem to have a reaction of an unpleasant sort which appears to be from ordinary flour, even though all the various blood tests indicated that there is nothing what so ever wrong with me, I am now investigating different flours. I do not have the reation from gluten free bread but hate the taste and texture of those I have tried so far.

I tried spelt flour which made a beautiful loaf and tasted lovely but the reation was there again, sadly.

Since I can not get medical advice other than 'try things out and see what suits you'. It is all trial and error.