|A variety of the common bean with flat pods|
Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, string bean, field bean, flageolet bean, French bean, garden bean, haricot bean, pop bean, or snap bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible fruit, either the dry seed or the unripe fruit, both of which are referred to as beans. The leaf is also occasionally used as a vegetable, and the straw can be used for fodder. Along with other species of the bean genus (Phaseolus), it is classified botanically into the legume family (Fabaceae), most of whose members acquire nitrogen through an association with rhizobia, a species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
The common bean is a highly variable species with a long history of cultivation. All of the wild members of the species have a climbing habit, but the many cultivars are classified as bush beans or pole beans, depending on their style of growth. These include the kidney bean, the navy bean, the pinto bean, and the wax bean. The other major types of commercially grown bean are the runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) and the broad bean (Vicia faba).
Beans are grown in every continent except Antarctica. Brazil and India are the largest producers of dry beans, while China produces, by far, the largest quantity of green beans. Worldwide, 23 million tonnes of dry common beans and 17.1 million tonnes of green beans were grown in 2010.
The wild P. vulgaris was native to the Americas and was domesticated separately in Mesoamerica and in the southern Andes region, giving the domesticated bean two gene pools which remain separate to this day. Along with squash and maize (corn), beans are one of the "Three Sisters" central to indigenous North American agriculture.
The common bean is a highly variable species with a long history. Bush varieties form erect bushes 20–60 cm (8–20 in) tall, while pole or running varieties form vines 2–3 m (7–10 ft) long. All varieties bear alternate, green or purple leaves, which are divided into three oval, smooth-edged leaflets, each 6–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 3–11 cm (1–4 in) wide. The white, pink, or purple flowers are about 1 cm long, and they give way to pods 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long and 1–1.5 cm wide. These may be green, yellow, black, or purple in color, each containing 4–6 beans. The beans are smooth, plump, kidney-shaped, up to 1.5 cm long, range widely in color, and are often mottled in two or more colors.
Dry beans will keep indefinitely if stored in a cool, dry place, but as time passes, their nutritive value and flavor degrade and cooking times lengthen. Dried beans are almost always cooked by boiling, often after being soaked in water for several hours. While the soaking is not strictly necessary, it shortens cooking time and results in more evenly textured beans. In addition, soaking beans removes 5 to 10% of the gas-producing sugars that can cause flatulence for some people. The methods include simple overnight soaking and the power soak method in which beans are boiled for three minutes and then set aside for 2–4 hours. Before cooking, the soaking water is drained off and discarded. Dry common beans take longer to cook than most pulses: cooking times vary from one to four hours, but are substantially reduced with pressure cooking.
In Mexico, Central America, and South America, the traditional spice used with beans is epazote, which is also said to aid digestion. In East Asia, a type of seaweed, kombu, is added to beans as they cook for the same purpose. Salt, sugar, and acidic foods such as tomatoes may harden uncooked beans, resulting in seasoned beans at the expense of slightly longer cooking times.
Green beans and wax beans
The three commonly known types of green beans are: string or snap beans, which may be round or have a flat pod; stringless or French beans, which lack a tough, fibrous "string" running along the length of the pod; and runner beans, which belong to a separate species, Phaseolus coccineus. Green beans may have a purple rather than green pod, which changes to green when cooked. Wax beans are P. vulgaris beans that have a yellow or white pod. Wax bean cultivars are commonly grown; the plants are often of the bush form.
Shell, shelled, or shelling beans are beans removed from their pods before being cooked or dried. Common beans can be used as shell beans, but the term also refers to other species of beans whose pods are not typically eaten, such as lima beans, soybeans, peas, and fava beans. Fresh shell beans are nutritionally similar to dry beans, but are prepared more like a vegetable, often being steamed, fried, or made into soups.
The nuña is an Andean subspecies, P. v. subsp. nunas (formerly P. vulgaris Nuñas group), with round, multicolored seeds that resemble pigeon eggs. When cooked on high heat, the bean explodes, exposing the inner part, in the manner of popcorn and other puffed grains.
The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% as much as red kidney beans.
Phytohaemagglutinin can be deactivated by boiling beans; ten minutes at boiling point (100°C, 212°F) are sufficient to degrade the toxin, but not to cook the beans, the U.S Food and Drug Administration recommends boiling for 30 minutes to ensure they reach a sufficient temperature for long enough to completely destroy the toxin. For dry beans, the FDA also recommends an initial soak of at least 5 hours in water which should then be discarded. Outbreaks of poisoning have been associated with cooking kidney beans in slow cookers.
The primary symptoms of phytohaemagglutinin poisoning are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Onset is from one to three hours after consumption of improperly prepared beans, and symptoms typically resolve within a few hours. Consumption of as few as four or five raw, soaked kidney beans can cause symptoms. Canned red kidney beans, though, are safe to use immediately.
Beans are high in purines, which are metabolized to uric acid. Uric acid is not a toxin as such, but may promote the development or exacerbation of gout. So people with gout have been advised in the past to limit their consumption of beans. However, more recent research has questioned this association, finding that moderate intake of purine-rich foods is not associated with increased risk of gout.
Many well-known bean varieties belong to this species, and none of the lists below is in any way exhaustive. Both bush and running (pole) varieties exist. The colors and shapes of pods and seeds vary over a wide range.
|Black turtle beans||The black turtle bean has small, shiny black seeds. It is especially popular in Latin American cuisine.|
|Cranberry beans||Cranberry bean s originated in Colombia as the cargamanto bean. Borlotti or Roman beans are a variety of cranberry bean bred in Italy to have a thicker skin. They are much used in Mediterranean cuisine.|
|Flageolet beans||Flageolet beans are often eaten in France. The seeds are small, light green, and kidney-shaped. The texture is firm yet creamy if shelled and cooked when fresh but semidry.|
|Kidney beans||Kidney beans, also known as red beans, are named for their visual resemblance in shape and color to kidneys. They are sometimes used in chili con carne, and are an integral part of the cuisine in northern regions of India. They are also used in New Orleans and much of southern Louisiana for the Monday Creole dish of red beans and rice.|
|Pea beans||A type of P. vulgaris called pea bean has been recorded in Britain since the 16th century. In the US, the name "pea bean" is also used to describe small white beans, and the same name is used for Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, also called yard-long bean and cowpea. The seeds of the British pea bean are bicolored red-brown and white. The plants are a typical climbing bean. The beans are either eaten in the pod like French beans or they may be harvested when mature and eaten as other dried beans.|
|Pink beans||Pink beans are small, pale pink, oval-shaped beans also known by the Spanish name habichuelas rosadas. The Santa Maria pinquito (Spanglish = pink and small), is commercially grown on the mesas above Santa Maria, California, and is a necessary ingredient in Santa Maria-style barbecue.|
|Pinto beans||Pinto beans are named for their mottled skin. They are the most common bean in the United States and northwestern Mexico, and are most often eaten whole in broth or mashed and refried. Either whole or mashed, they are a common filling for burritos. The young pods may also be harvested and cooked as green pinto beans.|
|White beans||Navy beans or haricot beans are particularly popular in the United Kingdom and the United States. Other white beans include cannellini, a popular variety in central and southern Italy that is related to the kidney bean. White beans are the most abundant plant-based source of phosphatidylserine known.|
|Yellow beans||'Sinaloa Azufrado', 'Sulphur', 'Mayocoba', and 'Peruano' (also called canary) are types of yellow beans. Peruano beans are small, oval, yellow beans about 1/2 in (1 cm) long with a thin skin. They have a creamy texture when cooked. Despite the name ('peruvian beans' in Spanish), they are native to Mexico. Yellow beans are uncommon in the United States due to a controversial patent issued in 1999 to John Proctor, who selected and named a strain of yellow bean from seeds he brought back from Mexico. U.S. Patent No. 5,894,079 (the Enola or yellow bean patent) granted POD-NERS, LLC., exclusive right to import and sell yellow beans in the United States from 1999 through 2008, when the patent was rejected after reexamination.|
In 2010, total world production of dry beans was 23 million metric tons, harvested from over 30 million hectares. World production of green beans in 2010 was 17.7 million ton, harvested from 15.1 million hectares.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phaseolus vulgaris.|
- Adzuki bean
- Broad bean
- Green bean
- List of dried foods
- List of diseases of the common bean
- Mung bean
- Organic beans
- Pulse (legume)
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