Fava beans are available only a few months of the year in areas thathave a representation of people with Italian, Greek, and Middle Easternheritages.
The fava bean looks somewhat like a huge, overgrown green pea. Ins~de, thepale green, velvety pod is tightly packed with about six to eight beansthat resemble large round limas. As with limas, the pods are edible onlywhen they are very young and immature. As a rule, the pods are discarded.Fava beans, if available, arrive in spring and are out of season by earlysummer. California and New Jersey produce most of our crop.
Some people are allergic to raw fava beans and ingestion of the uncookedfavas can result in mild or acute discomfort and, in rare cases, can inducea coma. The cooked fava is not toxic.