Bean

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French bean pods on a plant

A bean is the seed of plants in many genera of the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are sold fresh or preserved through drying (a pulse). Beans have been cultivated since the seventh millennium BCE in Thailand, and since the second millennium BCE in Europe and in Peru. Most beans, with the exception of peas, are summer crops. As legumes, the plants fix nitrogen and form seeds with a high protein content. They are produced on a scale of millions of tons annually in many countries; India is the largest producer.

Dried beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, and used in traditional dishes throughout the world including salads, soups, and stews such as chili con carne. Some are processed into tofu; others are fermented to form tempeh. Guar beans are used for their gum. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame (immature soybean). Some types are sprouted to form beansprouts.

Many fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohaemagglutinin and require cooking to make them safe to eat. Many species contain indigestible oligosaccharides that produce flatulence. Beans have traditionally been seen as a food of the poor.

Etymology and naming

The word "bean" and its Germanic cognates (e.g. German Bohne) have existed in common use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> referring to broad beans, chickpeas, and other pod-borne seeds. This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, 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. The term has long been applied generally to seeds of similar form, such as Old World soybeans and lupins, and to the fruits or seeds of unrelated plants such as coffee beans and vanilla beans.<ref name="AHD">Template:Cite dictionary</ref> This article discusses only legumes.

History

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Beans in an early cultivated form were grown in Thailand from the early seventh millennium BCE, predating ceramics.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Beans were deposited with the dead in ancient Egypt. Not until the second millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in the Aegean region, Iberia, and transalpine Europe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the Iliad (8th century BCE), there is a passing mention of beans and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor.<ref>"And as in some great threshing-floor go leaping From a broad pan the black-skinned beans or peas." (Iliad xiii, 589).</ref>

The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero Cave, Peru, dated to around the second millennium BCE.<ref name=Chazan/> Genetic analyses of the common bean Phaseolus show that it originated in Mesoamerica, and subsequently spread southward.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Most of the kinds of beans commonly eaten today are part of the genus Phaseolus, which originated in the Americas. The first European to encounter them was Christopher Columbus, while exploring what may have been the Bahamas, and saw them growing in fields. Five kinds of Phaseolus beans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples, selecting pods that did not open and 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.Template:Sfn

Pre-Columbian peoples as far north as the Atlantic seaboard grew beans in the "Three Sisters" method of companion planting. The beans were interplanted with maize and squash.<ref name="Mt. Pleasant 2006">Template:Cite book</ref> Beans were cultivated across Chile in Pre-Hispanic times, likely as far south as the Chiloé Archipelago.<ref name=Alimentarias>Template:Cite book</ref>

Diversity

Taxonomic range

Beans are legumes, but from many different genera, native to different regions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Genus Species and common varieties Probable home region Distribution, climate Notes
Phaseolus The Americas Tropical, subtropical, warm temperate Some contain high levels of toxic phytohemagglutinin.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Vigna Mostly South Asia Equatorial, pantropical, warm subtropical, hot temperate
Cajanus C. cajan: pigeon pea Indian Subcontinent Pantropical, equatorial
Lens L. culinaris: red, green, and Puy lentils Near East/Levant Temperate, subtropical, cool tropical
Cicer C. arietinum: garbanzo beans Turkey/Levant/Near East Temperate, subtropical, cool tropical
Vicia Near East Subtropical, temperate Causes favism in susceptible people.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Glycine G. max: soybean East Asia Hot temperate, Subtropical, cool tropical
Macrotyloma M. uniflorum: horsegram South Asia Tropical, subtropical
Mucuna M. pruriens: velvet bean Tropical Asia and Africa Tropical, warm subtropical Contains L-DOPA,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and smaller amounts of other psychoactive compounds. Can cause itching and rashes on contact.<ref name="Andersen 2015">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Lupinus The Mediterranean, Balkans, Levant (albus), The Andes (mutabilis) Subtropical, temperate Requires soaking to remove toxins.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ceratonia C. siliqua: carob bean Mediterranean, Middle East Subtropical, arid subtropical, hot temperate
Canavalia South Asia or Africa (C. gladiata), Brazil and South America (C. ensiformis) Tropical
Cyamopsis C. tetragonoloba: guar bean Africa or South Asia Tropical, semi-arid Source of Guar gum
Lablab L. purpureus: hyacinth/lablab bean South Asia, Indian Subcontinent or Africa Tropical
Psophocarpus P. tetranoglobulus: winged bean New Guinea Tropical, equatorial

Conservation of cultivars

The biodiversity of bean cultivars is threatened by modern plant breeding, which selects a small number of the most productive varieties. Efforts are being made to conserve the germplasm of older varieties in different countries.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2023, the Norwegian Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 40,000 accessions of Phaseolus bean species.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultivation

Agronomy

Many beans are summer crops that need warm temperatures to grow, with peas as an exception. Legumes are capable of nitrogen fixation and hence need less fertiliser than most plants. Maturity is typically 55–60 days from planting to harvest.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As the pods mature, they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour. Many beans are vines needing 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

More recently, the commercial "bush bean" which does not require support and produces all its pods simultaneously has been developed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production

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Beans in a market

The production data for legumes are published by FAO in three categories:

  1. Pulses dry: all mature and dry seeds of leguminous plants except soybeans and groundnuts.
  2. Oil crops: soybeans and groundnuts.
  3. Fresh vegetable: immature green fresh fruits of leguminous plants.

The following is a summary of FAO data.<ref>FAO STAT Production/Crops.</ref>

Production of legumes (million metric tons)
Crops
[FAO code]<ref>See Template:Slink.</ref> 		1961 1981 2001 2015 2016 Ratio
2016 /1961 		Remarks
Total pulses (dry) [1726] 40.78 41.63 56.23 77.57 81.80 2.01 Template:Left Per capita production decreased.
(Population grew 2.4×)
Oil crops (dry)
Soybeans [236] 26.88 88.53 177.02 323.20 334.89 12.46 Template:Left Increase driven by animal feeds and oil.
Groundnuts, with shell [242] 14.13 20.58 35.82 45.08 43.98 3.11
Fresh vegetables (80–90% water)
Beans, green [414] 2.63 4.09 10.92 23.12 23.60 8.96
Peas, green [417] 3.79 5.66 12.41 19.44 19.88 5.25
Top producers, pulses [1726]Template:Efn
(million metric tons)
Country 2016 Share
Total 81.80 100%
1 India 17.56 21.47%
2 Canada 8.20 10.03%
3 Myanmar 6.57 8.03%
4 China 4.23 5.17%
5 Nigeria 3.09 3.78%
6 Russia 2.94 3.60%
7 Ethiopia 2.73 3.34%
8 Brazil 2.62 3.21%
9 Australia 2.52 3.09%
10 United States 2.44 2.98%
11 Niger 2.06 2.51%
12 Tanzania 2.00 2.45%
Others 24.82 30.34%

The world leader in production of dry beans (Phaseolus spp),Template:Efn is India, followed by Myanmar (Burma) and Brazil. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.<ref name=FAODEF>FAO Pulses and Derived Products Template:Webarchive.</ref>

Top ten dry beans (Phaseolus spp) producers, 2020
Rank Country Production
(tonnes) 		Footnote
1. Template:IND 5,460,000 FAO figure
2. Template:MMR 3,053,012 Official figure
3. Template:BRA 3,035,290 Aggregated data
4. Template:USA 1,495,180 Semi-official data
5. Template:CHN 1,281,586 Official figure
6. Template:TAN 1,267,648 FAO figure
7. Template:MEX 1,056,071 Official figure
8. Template:KEN 774,366 FAO figure
9. Template:ARG 633,823 Semi-official data
10 Template:UGA 603,980 Official figure
Total Template:NoflagWorld 27,545,942 Aggregated data

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uses

Culinary

Beans can be cooked in a wide variety of casseroles, curries, salads, soups, and stews. They can be served whole or mashed alongside meat or toast, or included in an omelette or a flatbread wrap.<ref name="BBC Good Food">Template:Cite web</ref> Other options are to include them in a bake with a cheese sauce, a Mexican-style chili con carne, or to use them as a meat substitute in a burger or in falafels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The French cassoulet is a slow-cooked stew with haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton, and preserved goose.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Soybeans can be processed into bean curd (tofu)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> or fermented into a cake (tempeh);<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> these can be eaten fried or roasted like meat, or included in stir-fries, curries, and soups.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most dry beans contain 21–25% protein by weight;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> dry soybeans are 36.5% protein by weight.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Other

Guar beans are used for their gum.

Guar beans are used for their gum, a galactomannan polysaccharide. It is used to thicken and stabilise foods and other products.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Health concerns

Toxins

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Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful, flavourless toxin: the lectin phytohaemagglutinin, which must be destroyed by cooking. Red kidney beans are particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks of food 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; under-cooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.<ref name="FDA">Template:Cite web</ref>

Beans need to be cooked thoroughly to destroy toxins; slow cooking is unsafe as it makes the beans soft without necessarily destroying the toxins.<ref name="FDA" /> A case of poisoning by butter beans used to make falafel was reported; the beans were used instead of traditional broad beans or chickpeas, soaked and ground without boiling, made into patties, and shallow fried.<ref name="falafel">Template:Cite web</ref>

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 United Kingdom National Poisons Information Service, available only to health professionals, the dangers of beans other than red beans were not flagged Template:As of.<ref name="falafel" />

Fermentation is used in some parts of Africa to make beans more digestible by removing toxins.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Other hazards

It is common to make beansprouts by letting some types of bean, often mung 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 many outbreaks of disease from bacterial contamination, often by salmonella, listeria, and Escherichia coli, of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> some causing significant mortality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Many types of bean, such as kidney beans, contain significant amounts of antinutrients that inhibit some enzyme processes in the body. Phytic acid, present in beans, interferes with bone growth and interrupts vitamin D metabolism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Many beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain large sugar molecules, oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose). A suitable oligosaccharide-cleaving enzyme is necessary to digest these. As the human digestive tract does not contain such enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are digested by bacteria in the large intestine, producing gases such as methane, released as flatulence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In human society

The Beaneater (c. 1584) by Annibale Carracci

Beans have traditionally been considered a food of the poor, as farmers ate grains and vegetables, and obtained their protein from beans, whereas the wealthier classes could afford meat.<ref name="Albala 2007" /> European society has what Ken Albala calls "a class-based antagonism" to beans.<ref name="Albala 2007" />

Different cultures agree in disliking the flatulence that beans cause, and possess their own seasonings to attempt to remedy it: Mexico uses the herb epazote; India the aromatic resin asafoetida; Germany applies the herb savory; in the Middle East, cumin; and Japan the seaweed kombu.<ref name="Albala 2007" /> A substance for which there is evidence of effectiveness in reducing flatulence is the enzyme alpha-galactosidase;<ref name="Albala 2007">Template:Cite book</ref> extracted from the mould fungus Aspergillus niger, it breaks down glycolipids and glycoproteins.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The reputation of beans for flatulence is the theme of a children's song "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Mexican jumping bean is a segment of a seed pod occupied by the larva of the moth Cydia 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

Notes

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References

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Bibliography

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