New Buckwheat Festival waffle cone: Flavor of the month, or new staple?

KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) — Buckwheat waffle cones are making their debut at this year’s Buckwheat Festival , and organizers are hoping that they’ll be an easy entry to people who aren’t as familiar with the signature buckwheat cakes, which are known to have an acquired taste.

12 News spoke with the General and Assistant Chairmen for this year’s festival, Evan Hardesty and Chase Thomas, who have worked over the last few months to perfect the recipe in time for the festival. For future events, the pair also said they are looking for other recipes to complement buckwheat’s unique taste.

“Growing up, I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t a big fan of buckwheat cakes because of the sour nature that they had to them,” Hardesty said. “As an adult, I absolutely love them. It’s an acquired taste almost. But I was trying to find some kind of item that would bring in the masses and be a nice and inviting welcome to the crop of buckwheat.”

The batter used in the buckwheat cones uses more sugar and buckwheat compared to the batter used to make a traditional buckwheat cake, and the extra sugar definitely comes through in the taste of the cone and is a bit less sour than what buckwheat fans have come to know.

12 News Digital Reporter Sam Gorski tried buckwheat cakes for the first time during his visit to the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department. Although the cakes had a slightly bitter aftertaste, he still thought they were quite good. Compared to the cakes, the waffle cone was much sweeter, but the buckwheat flavor still came through and added a kind of toasty flavor to the vanilla ice cream.

The batter is cooked in a waffle iron until it reaches a golden brown color. It is then rolled into cones and left to cool and harden. Finally, the cones are placed inside a bamboo sheath with the official festival logo emblazoned on it; compared to a paper wrapper, the bamboo does a much better job of holding any ice cream that drips out and makes the cone less messy.

If you want to try a buckwheat waffle cone for yourself, the cones will be available from noon to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. You can find more details on the Buckwheat Festival here , along with a full event itinerary.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.