Bean

Abeanis the seed of any plant in thelegumefamily (Fabaceae) used as avegetablefor human consumption or animal feed.The seeds are often preserved throughdrying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways,including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world.  The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole asgreen beansoredamame(immaturesoybean), but fully ripened beans contain toxins likephytohemagglutininand require cooking.
The word 'bean', for the Old World vegetable, existed inOld English,long before theNew WorldgenusPhaseoluswas known in Europe.  With theColumbian exchangeof domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds ofPhaseolus, such as thecommon beanand therunner bean, and the related genusVigna. The term has long been applied generally to seeds of similar form,such as Old Worldsoybeansandlupins, and to the fruits or seeds of unrelated plants such ascoffee beans,vanilla beans,castor beans, andcocoa beans.
Beans in an early cultivated form were grown in Thailand from the early seventh millennium BCE, predating ceramics.Beans were deposited with the dead inancient Egypt. Not until the second millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in theAegean region,Iberia, and transalpine Europe.In theIliad(8th century BCE), there is a passing mention of beans andchickpeascast on the threshing floor.
The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found inGuitarrero Cave,Peru, dated to around the second millennium BCE.Genetic analyses of the common beanPhaseolusshow that it originated inMesoamerica, and subsequently spread southward, along withmaizeand squash, traditional companion crops.
Most of the kinds of beans commonly eaten today are part of the genusPhaseolus, which originated in the Americas. The first European to encounter them wasChristopher Columbus, while exploring what may have been theBahamas, and saw them growing in fields. Five kinds ofPhaseolusbeans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples, selectingpods that did not openand scatter their seeds when ripe: common beans (P. vulgaris) grown from Chile to the northern part of the United States; lima and sieva beans (P. lunatus); and the less widely distributed teparies (P. acutifolius), scarlet runner beans (P. coccineus), and polyanthus beans.
Pre-Columbianpeoples as far north as the Atlantic seaboard grew beans in the "Three Sisters" method ofcompanion planting. The beans were interplanted withmaizeandsquash.Beans were cultivated across Chile in Pre-Hispanic times, likely as far south as theChiloé Archipelago.
Most beans are legumes, but from many different genera, native to different regions.
Thebiodiversityof bean cultivars is threatened by modern plant breeding, which selects a small number of the most productive varieties. Efforts are being made to conserve thegermplasmof older varieties in different countries.As of 2023, the NorwegianSvalbard Global Seed Vaultholds more than 40,000accessionsofPhaseolusbean species.
Many beans are summer crops that needs warm temperatures to grow; peas are an exception. Legumes are capable ofnitrogen fixationand hence need less fertiliser than most plants. Maturity is typically 55–60 days from planting to harvest.As the pods mature, they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour. Many beans arevinesneeding external support, such as "bean cages" or poles. Native Americans customarily grew them along with corn and squash, the tall stalks acting as support for the beans.
More recently, the commercial "bush bean" which does not require support and produces all its pods simultaneously has been developed.
The production data for legumes are published byFAOin three categories:
The following is a summary of FAO data.
The world leader in production of dry beans (Phaseolusspp),is India, followed by Myanmar (Burma) and Brazil. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.
Source:UN Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)
Raw green beans are 90% water, 7%carbohydrates, 2%protein, and contain negligiblefat. In a 100 grams (3.5 oz) reference serving, raw green beans supply 31caloriesoffood energy, and are a moderate source (10-19% of theDaily Value, DV) ofvitamin C(15% DV) andvitamin B6(11% DV), with no othermicronutrientsin significant content (table).
Beans can be cooked in a wide variety ofcasseroles,curries,salads,soups, andstews. They can be served whole or mashed alongside meat or toast, or included in anomeletteor aflatbreadwrap.Other options are to include them in a bake with acheese sauce, a Mexican-stylechili con carne, or to use them as a meat substitute in aburgeror infalafels.The Frenchcassouletis a slow-cooked stew with haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton, and preserved goose.Soybeans can be processed into bean curd (tofu)or fermented into a cake (tempeh);these can be eaten fried or roasted like meat, or included in stir-fries, curries, and soups.
Guarbeans are used fortheir gum, agalactomannanpolysaccharide. It is used to thicken and stabilise foods and other products.
Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful, flavourless toxin: thelectinphytohaemagglutinin, which must be destroyed by cooking. Redkidney beansare particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks offood poisoning. Even small quantities (4 or 5 raw beans) may cause severe stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea. This risk does not apply to canned beans because they have already been cooked.A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; under-cooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.
Cooking beans, without bringing them to a boil, in aslow cookerat a temperature well below boiling may not destroy toxins.A case of poisoning bybutter beansused to makefalafelwas reported; the beans were used instead of traditionalbroad beansorchickpeas, soaked and ground without boiling, made into patties, andshallow fried.
Bean poisoning is not well known in the medical community, and many cases may be misdiagnosed or never reported; figures appear not to be available. In the case of the UKNational Poisons Information Service, available only to health professionals, the dangers of beans other than red beans were not flagged as of 2008.
Fermentationis used in some parts of Africa to improve the nutritional value of beans by removing toxins. Inexpensive fermentation improves the nutritional impact of flour from dry beans and improves digestibility, according to research co-authored by Emire Shimelis, from the Food Engineering Program at Addis Ababa University.Beans are a major source of dietaryproteinin Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
It is common to makebeansproutsby letting some types of bean, oftenmung beans, germinate in moist and warm conditions; beansprouts may be used as ingredients in cooked dishes, or eaten raw or lightly cooked. There have been manyoutbreaks of diseasefrom bacterial contamination, often bysalmonella,listeria, andEscherichia coli,  of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked,some causing significant mortality.
Many types of bean like kidney bean contain significant amounts ofantinutrientsthat inhibit some enzyme processes in the body.Phytic acid, present in beans, interferes with bone growth and interruptsvitamin Dmetabolism.
Many beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain large sugar molecules,oligosaccharides(particularlyraffinoseandstachyose). A suitable oligosaccharide-cleavingenzymeis necessary to digest these. As the human digestive tract does not contain such enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are digested bybacteriain the large intestine, producing gases such as methane, released asflatulence.
Beans have often been thought of as a food of the poor, as small farmers ate grains, vegetables, and got their protein from beans, while the wealthier classes were able to afford meat.European society has what Ken Albala calls "a class-based antagonism" to beans.
Different cultures agree in disliking the flatulence that beans cause, and possess their own seasonings to attempt to remedy it: Mexico uses the herbepazote; India the aromatic resinasafoetida; Germany applies the herbsavory; in the Middle East,cumin; and Japan the seaweedkombu.A substance for which there is evidence of effectiveness in reducing flatulence is the enzymealpha-galactosidase;extracted from themouldfungusAspergillus niger, it breaks downglycolipidsandglycoproteins.The reputation of beans for flatulence is the theme of a children's song "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit".
TheMexican jumping beanis a segment of a seed pod occupied by thelarvaof the mothCydia saltitans, and sold as a novelty. The pods start to jump when warmed in the palm of the hand. Scientists have suggested that the random walk that results may help the larva to find shade and so to survive on hot days.