Buckwheat honey is the product made by bees that collect nectar and pollen primarily from the flowers of buckwheat plants. It's a very dark honey that is sometimes called black honey and has a flavor similar to molasses.
Fagopyrum esculentum produces clusters of small pink flowers that are very attractive to bees. Buckwheat is not a wheat at all, but its seeds are ground and used in flour and pancakes mixes. It is the primary ingredient in a popular Canadian pancake known as ployes.
Buckwheat production in the U.S. takes place primarily in the Northern plains. In areas of long summers, such as Missouri, it is grown as a second crop after wheat, according to the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute. The plant's extended flowering habit makes it valuable to honey producers.
Buckwheat honey is an organic alternative to over-the-counter cough medicines for children. According to Medical News Today, just one dose of buckwheat honey may relieve a child's cough more effectively than cough syrup.