the world of legumes

Beans, Peas, Nuts, and Seeds

what is a legume?

Legumes are seeds from pod-producing plants. Legumes include beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds. Dried legumes have many uses in cooking, from salads to appetizers, to main courses and desserts. They are an excellent source of carbohydrates and fiber.

a brief history of legumes

Archaeological finds show the first human consumption of legumes dates back to before 10,000 years BCE.

From the Neolithic age of agriculture, cereal cultivation was first, then came legumes. The Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations grew and ate many types and varieties of legumes.

In the Syrian-Palestinian and Phoenician traditions, cereals were combined with legumes, and used in the form of flour or the various parts of the plant (pods, seeds, leaves). The ancient Greeks used cereals as a nutritious base for their diet, adding legumes, such as the fava bean, lentils and peas.

In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, as Christianity spread, it promoted a diet of great frugality: symbolically and explicitly opposed to extravagance and greed.

Legumes became a symbol of sobriety and balance, consolidated in the following centuries, as Christian society formalized the dichotomy between food for the rich and food for the poor.

With the end of the feudal system and the growth of cities, this model was adopted by the new ruling classes: refined, rich foods for the nobles; simple foods for the peasants. Beans and cereals were eaten by both, though the peasants subsisted on them.

In the modern era, a vast wave of new foods was imported from the Americas, including a new species of bean (Phaseolus) was introduced, in addition to the already cultivated black-eyed pea which had come from Africa.

The New World bean soon became prevalent in the European diet and took on the popular name (faculia for the Greeks, fagiolo for the Italians, flayot and flageolet for the French).

using legumes in the kitchen

cooking legumes

Rinse legumes before cooking. In some cases soak legumes before cooking as well. Check dried legumes for dirt, stones, and other debris prior to washing by placing the product on a sheet pan. Place legumes in a large colander or sieve and rinse well with cold running water to remove any dust or dirt particles.

Cook legumes before they are eaten to develop their flavor, to remove harmful substances, and to make them easy to chew and digest. Cook them so they are firm to the bite.

You can serve legumes in many ways---soups, stews, salads, or as a side or main dishes. Red beans for instance, are often served as a vegetarian dish in red beans and rice.

Black beans are popular in Mexican cooking. Kidney beans usually served in chili, bean salad, and Cajun dishes. Chickpeas are the basis for hummus. Soynuts are a popular snack and used as a garnish in salads.

the world of grains

Wheat, Rice, Corn, Oats, and Flours

the history of grains

People first began eating grains about 75,000 years ago in western Asia. These grains, including einkorn and emmer, were ancestors of today's wheat.

Einkorn and emmer grew wild near the banks of rivers. People harvested the grasses that grew naturally near their communities.

Ancient people ate grains in much the same way we do today. Wheat grains were made into flour and used in breads. Rice was steamed and eaten hot or cold. Oats were mashed with water or milk to make oatmeal.

In some ancient civilizations, grain products served as wages or forms of currency. Many of the workers who built Egypt’s pyramids at Giza, for instance, were often paid in bread and beer.

In the developing world, few farmers have the huge fields of grain that agribusinesses in the developed world do. Farmers in the developing world typically have a few acres, and provide grain for their local community. These farmers usually thresh and winnow with separate machines (threshers and winnowers) after harvesting the field. In many places, harvesting is still done with hand tools such as the sickle, a long, curved blade used for cutting many stalks of grain at once.

what is a grain?

Grains are grasses that grow edible seeds. Grains, along with meals and flours, are essential for everyday cooking.

whole grains

Whole grains, are grains that have not been milled. In the milling process, the germ, bran, and hull of a whole grain are removed or polished. The hull of a whole grain is the protective coating, or husk, that surrounds the grain. Bran, a great source of fiber and B vitamins, is the tough layer surrounding the endosperm.

The endosperm is the largest part of the grain and a major source of protein and carbohydrate. The smallest part of the whole grain is the germ. It is important because it provides a trace of fat and is rich in thiamin.

Types of grains include: Wheat, Rice, Corn, and Oats.

using grains in the kitchen

cooking grains

Like legumes, soak grains before cooking them. For example, water softens the outer layer, or bran, of whole grains such as barley and buckwheat. This makes them easier to cook.

Food preparers can select from several ways to cook grains, including steaming, pilaf, and risotto. Cook steamed grains in a double boiler with a perforated bottom over simmering or boiling liquid. Properly steamed grains should be tender to the bite and have a good flavor.

Risotto

Most commonly, food preparers use the risotto method with one special medium-grain rice, arborio. Risotto has a very creamy consistency because of the starch that is released from the arborio rice as it cooks.

This starch makes the finished product sticky and creamy. In the risotto method, the cook stirs the rice constantly as they add small amounts of hot liquid, usually flavored broth or water, which are absorbed.

The starch in the rice is released gradually during the cooking process, producing a creamy texture. The best risotto has a porridge-like consistency (sticky and creamy) and can be served as an appetizer or main entrée. The cook also can cool and shape it for later use.

in conclusion

Back in the day, it was common practice to soak, sprout, or ferment grains and legumes before preparing or eating them. This made their nutrients more available, reduced the phytic acid content, and made them easier to digest.

Now, to produce these foods and products faster, many food manufacturers skip these crucial steps. So, we get fewer nutrients and more phytic acid from these grains and legumes. And, they’re harder to digest. (That is, unless you’re soaking, sprouting, or fermenting at home.)

And, we prepare bread much differently today. Flour needs time to ferment, so the yeast activates and starts pre-digesting some of that tough gluten. Instead, artificial additives are used to speed things up, and our poor gut is left to digest all that gluten on its own.

In the 1960s, a new method of growing wheat emerged that allowed us to grow more And, though there’s no evidence that this shorter “dwarf” wheat has led to the rise in gluten sensitivity, it’s much less nutritious. It’s lower in minerals than older wheat crops, but still contains the same levels of the antinutrient phytic acid.

Plus, some people correlate increased use of a common herbicide in the U.S.—Roundup—with the dramatic rise in celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity. (In part, this is because people who can’t tolerate gluten well in the U.S. seem to tolerate it just fine in other countries )

It’s thought that the glyphosate in Roundup and some other herbicides can disrupt our healthy gut bacteria balance.

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