Category:
Nutrition
On Legumes
Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (long beans)
Vigna angularis (adzuki bean)
Vigna radiata (moong)
Fava
Pisum sativum (peas)
Phaseolus lunatus (baby limas)
Phaseolus vulgaris (kidney, et al.)
Phaseolus coccineus
Lens culinaris (lentil)
There are more...
From the Old World come the broad or fava beans, ceci or chick peas, also called garbanzo, the various daal, lentils, peas and pulses, as well as the mung and red adzuki beans of Asia. From the New World come the beans of the genus Phaseolus, such as Lima, Kidney, black turtle, navy, Scarlet Runners out of the desert, and many other cultivars.
Of course peanuts are also legumes, as are soja beans. These two differ from the others in various ways but the most important difference is that they are also oil-seeds; in either one half the weight is lipids.
From the cooks view, there is one thing they all share; if boiled in salted water, some of the proteinaceous compounds they contain will react with the sodium in such a way that they cannot cook until properly done. A gritty texture will remain no matter how long they are boiled. So cook all your legumes in unsalted water. Since the age of dried product has a great influence on the time needed for cooking, it is often most effective to prepare these foods separate from other ingredients, most of which do benefit from being cooked with sodium. To make an advantage of adversity; cook them until done exactly to suit your purpose, then incorporate with the rest of the dish at your convenience.
Notes:
*Unfortunately, many of these sugars are not digestible by humans without the help of certain bacteria. In the gastrointestinal tract, the presence of these sugars causes the requisite bacteria to replicate themselves quickly unto the task of commensal digestion, making the nutrients at least in part available for your assimilation. Volunteers to the end, their biomass is then excreted. In the interim, their anærobic respiration will have created a certain volume of carbon dioxide, which will inexorably find its way to the outer atmosphere. Other culprits and/or commensal guests, the methanogenic bacteria, break down exotic nutrients that we cannot contend with. These are responsible for some of the more startling aromas that vegetarians occasionally emit. The habit of the inner colony (sorry) varies between individuals. Perhaps ones personality is reflected, as is the case with so many other species of pets.
There is no denying that the New World beans have a great propensity for inciting this gas-producing behaviour. There is also not much you can do about it. Many schemes are proposed, such as throwing out the soaking water, or skimming the beans as they come to a boil, but mostly they seem to make very little difference. What does seem to be important is thorough cooking. In the countries where these foods are native, they are usually cooked down almost to a mush. For example, in México, frijoles de ólla, or pot beans, are boiled until at least half have burst and broken. In India, where so many pulses and daal are staple foods, they are commonly cooked down into a purée. In almost every case, a good deal of water is utilized.
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