The nutritious vegetable is a part of several traditional dishes and is quite versatile when it comes to cooking. One can easily savor the same by simply boiling, frying, or baking!

baskets full of beans

Seeds of Fabaceae:

A bean is the seed of the flowering plant family, Fabaceae. They are used as vegetables for human or animal food and have been consumed for a long time.

The term bean was used in Germany before the 12th century.
Broad beans, chickpeas, and other pod-borne seeds were collectively referred to as beans in those days.
After Columbian-era contact between Europe and America, the use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna.

Bean vines and the bean cages:

close-up of a bean vine

Beans are summer crops that demand warm temperatures for growth. It takes 55-60 days to mature from planting to harvest. The bean pods on maturity turn yellow and dry up while the beans inside change from green to their mature color. As a vine, bean plants require support, which may take the form of special “bean cages” or poles.

Beans in ancient Greece:

It is believed that the beans were used by the Greeks to elect their leaders. They used a bean machine that contained 100 beans out of which 99 were black and one was white and randomly used them in the elections. The Greek mathematician Pythagoras had banished beans from his diet despite being the father of vegetarianism. He believed that souls passed through beanstalk and refused to pass by bean fields.

A punch of nutrition:

close-up of a bowl of beans salad with a dumb-bell and a measuring tape placed near it, potrayal of how beans could help with fitness

Beans are less with proteins, complex carbohydrates, folate, and iron.
Beans have significant amounts of fiber. One cup of cooked beans provides between nine and 13 grams of fiber. Soluble fiber lowers blood cholesterol.
They have amino acid content that helps with wound healing
The antioxidizing properties of the beans shall be attributed to the polyphenols while they can be easily balanced in a regular diet plan.
High chlorophyll content in the green beans blocks carcinogenic effects while they are packed with essential vitamins like riboflavin, thiamin, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Green beans are relatively high in dietary fiber and are naturally low in calories, fat, and sodium.

The processing of beans:

close-up of frozen beans

The processed beans are produced from dried beans. The bean plants are chopped off from the base and left to dry. The pods are collected with the help of machines and are cleaned and bagged for further treatment and conditioning.

Conditioning is the process of removal of broken and off-colored beans.
Foreign elements are also eliminated in the process.
It is believed that uniformity facilitates further processing.
Sieves, sifters, color sorters, and gravity processors are used in the process.
A color sorter is used for picking out the odd colored beans.it makes use of near-infrared systems and optical technology.

The split and broken beans are used up in making flours and pastes. Dry beans, bean flours, and canned beans are the products of bean processing. It is highly recommended to wash and rinse canned beans because they are rich in sodium and starch.

Culinary delights:

close-up of the famous Gujarati dish

From salads to curries and bakes, beans could be just anything! It takes only a few minutes to cook beans while they can be easily matched up with a healthy diet plan. Sauteed green beans, beans patoli vepudu, beans thoran, guar ki bhaji, beans aloo, green bean salad, and khatti meethi phaliyan are a few bean recipes that are enjoyed across India.