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{{otheruses}}
{{Merge-multiple|Legume|Pulse (legume)|Fabaceae|date=July 2007}}
[[Image:Heaps of beans.jpg|thumb|top|350px|Green beans]]
'''Bean''' is a common name for large plant [[seed]]s of several [[genus|genera]] of [[Fabaceae]] (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. They are also known as [[legume]]s.
== Name ==
The term ''Bean'' originally referred to the seed of the broad bean, but was later broadened to include members of the genus Phaseolus such as the common bean or haricot and the runner bean and the related genus Vigna. The term is now applied in a general way to many other related plants such as soybeans, peas, lentils, kidney beans, vetches and lupins.
''Bean'' can be used as a near synonym of [[pulse (legume)|pulse]], an edible [[legume]], though the term "pulses" is usually reserved for leguminous crops harvested for their dry grain. ''Pulses'' usually excludes crops mainly used for oil extraction (like [[soybean]] and [[peanut]]) or those used exclusively for sowing purposes ([[clover]] and [[alfalfa]]). Leguminous crops harvested green for food, such as snap beans, green peas etc, are classified as vegetable crops.
In English usage 'beans' sometimes also refer to seeds or other organs of non ''leguminosae'' which bear a resemblance to the vegetable, for example [[coffee bean]]s, [[castor bean]]s and [[cocoa beans]] (which resemble bean seeds), and [[vanilla bean]]s (which resemble the pods)
==History==
{{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}}
Beans are one of the longest-cultivated plants, [[broad beans]] having been grown at least since [[ancient Egypt]], the [[common bean]] for six thousand years in the [[Americas]].
Many modern dry beans come from old-world varieties of broad beans, but most of the kinds commonly eaten fresh come from the Americas, being first seen by [[Christopher Columbus]] during his conquest of a region of what may have been the [[Bahamas]], where they were grown in fields.
One especially famous use of beans by pre-Columbian people is the [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]] method of [[companion plant]] cultivation:
:On the east coast of what would come to be called the United States, some tribes would grow corn ([[maize]]), beans, and [[Squash (plant)|squash]] intermingled together. The corn would not be planted in rows as it is today, but in a checkerboard/hex fashion across a field, separate patches of one to four stalks each.
:Beans would be planted around the base of the developing stalks, and would vine their way up as the stalks grew. All American beans at that time were vine plants, "bush beans" having only been bred more recently. The cornstalks would work as a [[trellis]] for the beans, and the beans would provide much-needed [[nitrogen]] for the corn.
:Squash would then be planted in the spaces between the patches of corn in the field. They would be provided slight shelter from the sun by the corn, and would deter many animals from attacking the corn and beans, because their coarse, hairy vines and broad, stiff leaves are difficult or uncomfortable for animals like deer and racooons to walk through, crows to land on, et cetera.
Beans were an important alternative source of protein throughout old and new world history, and still are today. There are over 4,000 cultivars of bean on record in the United States, alone. However beans, like most plants, do not have a complete set of amino acids, and are therefore dangerous to depend upon as a sole source of protein.
An interesting modern example of the diversity of bean use is [[15 bean soup]], which, as the name implies, contains literally fifteen different varieties of bean.
== Types of beans ==
* ''[[Vicia]]''
** ''Faba'' or [[Vicia faba|broad bean]][[Image:Tuinboon zaden in peul.jpg|thumb|''Vica faba'' (broad bean)]]
* ''[[Vigna]]''
** ''Aconitifolia'' or [[Moth bean]]
** ''Angularis'' or [[azuki bean]]
** '' mungo'' or [[urad (bean)|urad bean]]
** '' radiata'' or [[mung bean]]
** ''umbellatta'' or [[rice bean]]
** ''unguiculata'' or [[cowpea]] (includes the [[black-eyed pea]], [[yardlong be
an]] and others)
* ''[[Cicer]]''
** ''arietinum'' or [[chickpea]]
* ''[[Pisum]]''
** ''sativum'' or [[pea]]
* ''[[Lathyrus]]
* ''[[Lathyrus sativus]]'' (Indian pea)
* ''[[Lathyrus tuberosus]]'' (Tuberous pea)
* ''[[Lens (genus)|Lens]]''
** ''culinaris'' or [[lentil]] [[Image:3 types of lentil.jpg|thumb|Lentils]]
* ''[[Lablab]]''
** ''purpureus'' or [[hyacinth bean]]
* ''[[Phaseolus]]''
** ''acutifolius'' or [[tepary bean]]
** ''coccineus'' or [[runner bean]]
** ''lunatus'' or [[lima bean]]
** ''vulgaris'' or [[common bean]] (includes the pinto bean, kidney bean and many others)
* ''[[Glycine (plant)|Glycine]]''
** ''max'' or [[soybean]]
* ''Psophocarpus''
** ''tetragonolobus'' or [[winged bean]] [[Image:Psophocarpus tetragonolobus1.jpg|thumb|''Psophocarpus tetragonolobus'' (winged bean)]]
* ''[[Cajanus]]''
** ''cajan'' or [[pigeon pea]]
* ''Stizolobium''
** ''spp'' or [[velvet bean]]
* ''[[Cyamopsis]]''
** ''tetragonoloba'' or [[guar]]
* ''[[Canavalia]]''
** ''ensiformis'' or jack bean
** ''[[gladiata]]'' or sword bean
* ''Macrotyloma''
** ''M. uniflorum'' or [[horse gram]]
* ''[[Lupinus]]'' or Lupin
** ''[[Lupinus mutabilis|L. mutabilis]]'' or tarwi
** ''[[Erythrina]]'' or [[Coral bean]]
Bean
==Cultural aspects==
The following traditional uses of beans refer to the [[Vicia faba|broad bean]].
* In some folk legends, such as in [[Estonia]] and the common [[Jack and the Beanstalk]] story, magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds. The [[Grimm Brothers]] collected a story in which a bean splits its sides laughing at the failure of others.
* Dreaming of a bean is sometimes said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said they caused bad dreams. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
[[Image:South Central Farm 32.jpg|thumb|An array of tomatoes and beans]]
* [[Pliny the Elder]] claimed that beans act as a [[laxative]]. He may have been referring to the [[Castor bean|seeds of the castor oil plant]], which contain oils used as laxatives in ancient India.
* European folklore claims that planting beans on [[Good Friday]] or during the night-time is good luck.
* ''"[[Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit]]"'' is a children's song about the flatulence often experienced after eating beans. The song is noteworthy for correctly identifying the bean as a fruit, not a vegetable.
* In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], "mame" (豆, マメ = "bean") may also mean something small. "Mame Chishiki", a Japanese phrase, which literally means "bean knowledge" (not "knowledge of beans"), is used to indicate any random trivia or miscellaneous knowledge displayed. The Japanese name for the [[Japanese beetle]] is "mamekogane" (マメコガネ), meaning "small beetle".
* In New Orleans, serving a meal of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring good luck in the upcoming year.
==Toxins==
Some raw beans, for example [[kidney beans]], contain harmful toxins ([[lectin]]s) which need to be removed, usually by various methods of soaking and cooking. The soaking water from kidney beans should be discarded before boiling, and some authorities recommend changing the water during cooking as well.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Cooking beans in a [[slow cooker]], because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad'<ref>[http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html Phytohaemagglutinin], US FDA's ''Bad Bug Book'' or ''Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook''. Notes that toxicity may be greater if heated to 80 °C than if consumed raw.</ref> (though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling and stays there for some time).
==Flatulence==
Many edible beans, including broad beans and soybeans, contain [[oligosaccharides]] (particularly [[Raffinose]] and [[Stachyose]]), a type of sugar molecule also found in [[cabbage]]. An anti-oligosaccharide [[enzyme]] is necessary to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the
large intestine. This digestion process produces [[flatulence]]-causing gases as a byproduct. This aspect of bean digestion is the basis for the children's rhyme "[[Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit]]."
Some species of [[mold]] produce alpha-galactosidase, an anti-oligosaccharide enzyme, which humans can take to facilitate digestion of oligosaccharides in the small intestine. This enzyme, currently sold in the [[United states|U.S.]] under the brand-name [[Beano (dietary supplement)|Beano]], can be added to food or consumed separately.
Other strategies include soaking beans in water for several hours before mixing them with other ingredients to remove the offending sugars. Sometimes vinegar is added, but only after the beans are cooked as vinegar interferes with the beans' softening.
Fermented beans will not produce most of the intestinal problems that unfermented beans will, since bacteria can consume the offending sugars.
It has been suggested that certain herbs can help deal with this problem.
[http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/beans/flatulence.html]
== See also ==
* [[Common bean]]
* [[pulse (legume)|Pulses]]
* [[List of edible seeds]]
* [[Baked beans]]
* [[Fassoulada]]
==Notes and references==
<references/>
==External links==
{{commonscat|Beans}}
* [http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8683.htm Everett H. Bickley Collection, 1919-1980] Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
* [http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon970815/skinnyon.html Discovery Online: The Skinny On Why Beans Give You Gas]
* [http://www.bulgarian-guide.com/bulgarian-cuisine/bulgarian-food/bean-soup.html Bulgarian Guide: Bean Soup Recipe]
[[Category:Edible legumes| ]]
[[Category:Lists of foods]]
{{Merge-multiple|Legume|Pulse (legume)|Fabaceae|date=July 2007}}
[[Image:Heaps of beans.jpg|thumb|top|350px|Green beans]]
'''Bean''' is a common name for large plant [[seed]]s of several [[genus|genera]] of [[Fabaceae]] (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed. They are also known as [[legume]]s.
== Name ==
The term ''Bean'' originally referred to the seed of the broad bean, but was later broadened to include members of the genus Phaseolus such as the common bean or haricot and the runner bean and the related genus Vigna. The term is now applied in a general way to many other related plants such as soybeans, peas, lentils, kidney beans, vetches and lupins.
''Bean'' can be used as a near synonym of [[pulse (legume)|pulse]], an edible [[legume]], though the term "pulses" is usually reserved for leguminous crops harvested for their dry grain. ''Pulses'' usually excludes crops mainly used for oil extraction (like [[soybean]] and [[peanut]]) or those used exclusively for sowing purposes ([[clover]] and [[alfalfa]]). Leguminous crops harvested green for food, such as snap beans, green peas etc, are classified as vegetable crops.
In English usage 'beans' sometimes also refer to seeds or other organs of non ''leguminosae'' which bear a resemblance to the vegetable, for example [[coffee bean]]s, [[castor bean]]s and [[cocoa beans]] (which resemble bean seeds), and [[vanilla bean]]s (which resemble the pods)
==History==
{{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}}
Beans are one of the longest-cultivated plants, [[broad beans]] having been grown at least since [[ancient Egypt]], the [[common bean]] for six thousand years in the [[Americas]].
Many modern dry beans come from old-world varieties of broad beans, but most of the kinds commonly eaten fresh come from the Americas, being first seen by [[Christopher Columbus]] during his conquest of a region of what may have been the [[Bahamas]], where they were grown in fields.
One especially famous use of beans by pre-Columbian people is the [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]] method of [[companion plant]] cultivation:
:On the east coast of what would come to be called the United States, some tribes would grow corn ([[maize]]), beans, and [[Squash (plant)|squash]] intermingled together. The corn would not be planted in rows as it is today, but in a checkerboard/hex fashion across a field, separate patches of one to four stalks each.
:Beans would be planted around the base of the developing stalks, and would vine their way up as the stalks grew. All American beans at that time were vine plants, "bush beans" having only been bred more recently. The cornstalks would work as a [[trellis]] for the beans, and the beans would provide much-needed [[nitrogen]] for the corn.
:Squash would then be planted in the spaces between the patches of corn in the field. They would be provided slight shelter from the sun by the corn, and would deter many animals from attacking the corn and beans, because their coarse, hairy vines and broad, stiff leaves are difficult or uncomfortable for animals like deer and racooons to walk through, crows to land on, et cetera.
Beans were an important alternative source of protein throughout old and new world history, and still are today. There are over 4,000 cultivars of bean on record in the United States, alone. However beans, like most plants, do not have a complete set of amino acids, and are therefore dangerous to depend upon as a sole source of protein.
An interesting modern example of the diversity of bean use is [[15 bean soup]], which, as the name implies, contains literally fifteen different varieties of bean.
== Types of beans ==
* ''[[Vicia]]''
** ''Faba'' or [[Vicia faba|broad bean]][[Image:Tuinboon zaden in peul.jpg|thumb|''Vica faba'' (broad bean)]]
* ''[[Vigna]]''
** ''Aconitifolia'' or [[Moth bean]]
** ''Angularis'' or [[azuki bean]]
** '' mungo'' or [[urad (bean)|urad bean]]
** '' radiata'' or [[mung bean]]
** ''umbellatta'' or [[rice bean]]
** ''unguiculata'' or [[cowpea]] (includes the [[black-eyed pea]], [[yardlong be
an]] and others)
* ''[[Cicer]]''
** ''arietinum'' or [[chickpea]]
* ''[[Pisum]]''
** ''sativum'' or [[pea]]
* ''[[Lathyrus]]
* ''[[Lathyrus sativus]]'' (Indian pea)
* ''[[Lathyrus tuberosus]]'' (Tuberous pea)
* ''[[Lens (genus)|Lens]]''
** ''culinaris'' or [[lentil]] [[Image:3 types of lentil.jpg|thumb|Lentils]]
* ''[[Lablab]]''
** ''purpureus'' or [[hyacinth bean]]
* ''[[Phaseolus]]''
** ''acutifolius'' or [[tepary bean]]
** ''coccineus'' or [[runner bean]]
** ''lunatus'' or [[lima bean]]
** ''vulgaris'' or [[common bean]] (includes the pinto bean, kidney bean and many others)
* ''[[Glycine (plant)|Glycine]]''
** ''max'' or [[soybean]]
* ''Psophocarpus''
** ''tetragonolobus'' or [[winged bean]] [[Image:Psophocarpus tetragonolobus1.jpg|thumb|''Psophocarpus tetragonolobus'' (winged bean)]]
* ''[[Cajanus]]''
** ''cajan'' or [[pigeon pea]]
* ''Stizolobium''
** ''spp'' or [[velvet bean]]
* ''[[Cyamopsis]]''
** ''tetragonoloba'' or [[guar]]
* ''[[Canavalia]]''
** ''ensiformis'' or jack bean
** ''[[gladiata]]'' or sword bean
* ''Macrotyloma''
** ''M. uniflorum'' or [[horse gram]]
* ''[[Lupinus]]'' or Lupin
** ''[[Lupinus mutabilis|L. mutabilis]]'' or tarwi
** ''[[Erythrina]]'' or [[Coral bean]]
Bean
==Cultural aspects==
The following traditional uses of beans refer to the [[Vicia faba|broad bean]].
* In some folk legends, such as in [[Estonia]] and the common [[Jack and the Beanstalk]] story, magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds. The [[Grimm Brothers]] collected a story in which a bean splits its sides laughing at the failure of others.
* Dreaming of a bean is sometimes said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said they caused bad dreams. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
[[Image:South Central Farm 32.jpg|thumb|An array of tomatoes and beans]]
* [[Pliny the Elder]] claimed that beans act as a [[laxative]]. He may have been referring to the [[Castor bean|seeds of the castor oil plant]], which contain oils used as laxatives in ancient India.
* European folklore claims that planting beans on [[Good Friday]] or during the night-time is good luck.
* ''"[[Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit]]"'' is a children's song about the flatulence often experienced after eating beans. The song is noteworthy for correctly identifying the bean as a fruit, not a vegetable.
* In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], "mame" (豆, マメ = "bean") may also mean something small. "Mame Chishiki", a Japanese phrase, which literally means "bean knowledge" (not "knowledge of beans"), is used to indicate any random trivia or miscellaneous knowledge displayed. The Japanese name for the [[Japanese beetle]] is "mamekogane" (マメコガネ), meaning "small beetle".
* In New Orleans, serving a meal of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring good luck in the upcoming year.
==Toxins==
Some raw beans, for example [[kidney beans]], contain harmful toxins ([[lectin]]s) which need to be removed, usually by various methods of soaking and cooking. The soaking water from kidney beans should be discarded before boiling, and some authorities recommend changing the water during cooking as well.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Cooking beans in a [[slow cooker]], because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad'<ref>[http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html Phytohaemagglutinin], US FDA's ''Bad Bug Book'' or ''Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook''. Notes that toxicity may be greater if heated to 80 °C than if consumed raw.</ref> (though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling and stays there for some time).
==Flatulence==
Many edible beans, including broad beans and soybeans, contain [[oligosaccharides]] (particularly [[Raffinose]] and [[Stachyose]]), a type of sugar molecule also found in [[cabbage]]. An anti-oligosaccharide [[enzyme]] is necessary to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the
large intestine. This digestion process produces [[flatulence]]-causing gases as a byproduct. This aspect of bean digestion is the basis for the children's rhyme "[[Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit]]."
Some species of [[mold]] produce alpha-galactosidase, an anti-oligosaccharide enzyme, which humans can take to facilitate digestion of oligosaccharides in the small intestine. This enzyme, currently sold in the [[United states|U.S.]] under the brand-name [[Beano (dietary supplement)|Beano]], can be added to food or consumed separately.
Other strategies include soaking beans in water for several hours before mixing them with other ingredients to remove the offending sugars. Sometimes vinegar is added, but only after the beans are cooked as vinegar interferes with the beans' softening.
Fermented beans will not produce most of the intestinal problems that unfermented beans will, since bacteria can consume the offending sugars.
It has been suggested that certain herbs can help deal with this problem.
[http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/beans/flatulence.html]
== See also ==
* [[Common bean]]
* [[pulse (legume)|Pulses]]
* [[List of edible seeds]]
* [[Baked beans]]
* [[Fassoulada]]
==Notes and references==
<references/>
==External links==
{{commonscat|Beans}}
* [http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8683.htm Everett H. Bickley Collection, 1919-1980] Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
* [http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon970815/skinnyon.html Discovery Online: The Skinny On Why Beans Give You Gas]
* [http://www.bulgarian-guide.com/bulgarian-cuisine/bulgarian-food/bean-soup.html Bulgarian Guide: Bean Soup Recipe]
[[Category:Edible legumes| ]]
[[Category:Lists of foods]]