Soba noodles are thin Japanese noodles with a square cross-section, made from buckwheat flour or a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour. Their brownish-grey colour and nutty, earthy flavour distinguish them from wheat noodles, and the buckwheat gives them a delicate texture that turns mushy if overcooked. They are served cold with dipping sauce in summer, zaru soba, and hot in broth in winter, and they star in the New Year’s tradition of toshikoshi soba, eaten for long life. Pure buckwheat soba, juwari, is gluten-free, though most commercial soba blends in wheat for workability, so coeliacs must check labels. Buckwheat supplies rutin and a good amino acid profile for a grain.