FoodFood InformationSides
The legume family which all beans, peas, lentils,and peanuts are a partof is one of the largest in the plant kingdom. Because of this and the manythousands of years of development and cultivation that man has given them,the variety of edible legumes available to us is huge. Both the appearanceand the names of legume varieties are colorful and varied. The color ofthe beans can range from a clean white, to deep red, dull green to flatblack with thousands of mixtures and patterns of colors.
There are two types of beans: pod beans and shell beans. In the ones knownas pod beans, the entire pod and the inner seed (which is called a bean)are consumed. Pod beans are harvested prior to reaching maturity. In theshell beans, only the inner bean is used and the outer pod is discarded.
Peas also come in two types. In one only the inner seed (called a pea) isused and the pod is inedible; in the other the entire pea, pod as well asseed, is used.
In spite of this incredible variety of names and colors, legumes are largelyinterchangeable in cooking usage, though some dishes just wouldn't be thesame if a different type was used.
ORIGIN
Black beans, broad beans, haricot, lima or butter beans, pink, pinto, andred kidney beans originated in South America. Lentils are from the Mediterranean;black-eyed beans/cowpeas from Africa; pigeon peas from Africa or India;soybeans and azukis from China; chickpeas (garbanzos) and mung beans (greengram) from India and ful medames or brown beans from Egypt.
NUTRITION
There are few non-animal foods that contain the amount of protein that isto be found in dried beans, peas, and lentils. The varieties commonly availablein this country have protein contents that range from 20%-35%. As with mostnon-animal proteins, they are not complete in themselves for purposes ofhuman nutrition, but become so when they are combined with the incompleteproteins found in grains. It is for this reason that grains and legumesare so often mentioned together. In cultures all over the world, it is commonto find the two served together at a meal, making a complete protein, evenwhen those doing the serving have no understanding of nutrition at all.
Preparing Beans
Many people avoid beans and other legumes because of their reputation forproducing gas. Studies show that people who eat beans frequently experiencethis problem less. The body seems to adapt. Beans and lentils can bemade more digestible by following these tips:
* soak them for eight hours before cooking;
* boil them for 30 minutes and then change the water;
* change the soaking water several times;
* add salt and acidic ingredients such as tomatoes after cooking.
Other notes: Lentils cook very quickly due to their size. Blackbeans tend to bleed very darkly when cooked so they are not well suitedto being combined with other beans.
Most legumes are available twelve months of the year. France is the world'slargest exporter of all pulses (beans, peas, lentils but excludingpeanuts), followed by the US and then China . When beans, lentils or peasare split they are known as dal.