BEAN

the seed of any one of a large number of plants, both trailing and of erect habit, of the Fabacee, represented in nearly every habitable part of the globe and yielding one of the world’s most important crops. Beans appear to have been cultivated long before the commencement of recorded history. They were well known to the ancient Egyptians and Grecians—and when the first voyagers reached the western continent they found that here also the growing of beans (and peas) had apparently always been a common industry among the natives—their preparation of beans and corn is perpetuated in ‘‘suecotash.’’ The bean of European history is the Broad, or Windsor, variety, with broad, curved pods, containing thick, bulging seeds of distinct and agreeable flavor. Closely related is the large Horse bean. Both are extensively grown in Europe, especially in England, but neither is an important crop in either the United States or Canada as the North-American climate is not suitable for their growth. The principal beans of United States cultivation are the Lima and Nidney, both of them believed to be native to South America. A different type of increasing importance is the Soy-peay, separately treated under its own head. Lima Beans are fiat and slightly kidney-shaped. They are very popular, fresh, dried, and canned, the green-seeded kinds being considered the choicest. The bulk of the world’s supply comes from the coast regions of southern California. The Kidney-bean is the haricot of the French and the frijole of Spanish-America. In Great Britain it is sometimes called the ‘‘ French bean.’’ There are a great many varieties, capable of general cla ification into ‘‘tough podded’’ and ‘‘ edible podded.”’ The ‘*tough podded’’ cla produces the bulk of the dried beans of commerce, variously known as ‘‘kidney-beans’’—of many colors, shapes, and sizes—or as navy beans, marrow beans, pintos, ‘‘pink beans,’’ ‘tred kidney-beans,’’ black beans, ‘‘red beans,’’ ete. ‘«Navy bean’’ in its broadest sense includes any small or medium-sized white bean suitable for preparation as ‘‘baked heans’’ but in the provision trade it specifically signifies the standard ‘‘baked beans’? type—the ‘‘small white’’ bean, the ‘‘pea bean’”’ (not the cowpea pea-bean). Marrow beans are larger, and both white and red. Pintos are short beans, buff, speckled with brown. They constitute an important drought-resistant crop, extensively cultivated in Colorado, New Mexico, and elsewhere in the southwest. **Pink beans,’’ of interior California, Arizona, ete.,—as also the Red Mexican, or; ‘‘red miner,’’ beans of southern California—are closely related to pintos. **Red kidney-beans’’ are larger than the ordinary white and po e a distincetive flavor. They have long been popular in the Boston and West-Indian markets and have in recent years considerably extended their following, especially in canned form. ‘They are excellent for chili con carne. a Black, or ‘‘turtle,’’ beans, cultivated chiefly in the southern states, make an especially rich and excellent soup. ‘*Red beans,’’ grown principally in the tropics, are le liable to cause intestinal irritation than ordinary beans, but they are difficult to handle because of their tender skins, and are therefore best canned. In appearance they look like small grades of the domestic ‘‘red kidney-beans.’’ To the edible-podded cla belong the numerous types of wax, or ‘‘butter,’’ beans, eaten fresh at all stages of development. A very attractive variety is the ‘‘speckled eranberry,’’ both shell and seeds spotted or otherwise marked with red. It is largely cultivated in New England and is popular there for making succotash. The seeds are also of importance as dried beans. Fiaqceolets, or Haricots flageolets, are shelled kidney-beans of special strains, generally put up in bottles or cans but also sold dried. They are usually gathered before maturity. The best grades are of green-seeded varieties. Others are dun colored, red, ete. String-beaus, or Suap-beans, or French beans, are immature pods of numerous kinds of kidnev-beans. The best have little or no ‘‘string.’’? They should be so young that the seeds are barely visible and should be marketed as quickly as po ible after gathering. In buying, see that they are crisp and tender when broken—tougine or limpne is a sign of too great age or overlong keeping. Canned string-beans, described for quality as ‘‘stringle ,’’ ‘‘fancy,’’ ete., are graded by size as ‘‘extra small,’’ ‘‘small,’’ ete. ‘‘Haricots verts’’ are French string-beans. String-heans are also kept for winter use by salting, both for home use and ret a i line. Thus preserved, they are a popular winter vegetable among Germans. Before cooking, they are soaked in water over night to remove the salt. Other Beans. Among many other interesting varieties of beans are the Adsuki, Asparagus, Cowpea, Lab-lab, Searlet Runner, and Tepary. The Adsuki is a Japanese bean which suits both the American palate and American conditions of soil and climate. It is rather small and of various colors—maroon being the most common and, in Japan, the color most desired. In Japan it is second only to the soy-bean as a legume crop and commands a Ingher price than any other bean. It is sold there in the whole seed and as meal and is the chief ingredient of many native cakes and confections. Its hard, brittle character lends itself admirably to grinding. Asparagus-beans (Vigna sesquipedal is) take their name from the great length of their pods, which average twelve inches or more and may even exceed a length of three feet. They belong to the cowpea group. By Chinese gardeners in California they are known as ‘‘Tou Kok.’? The seeds are small but the green pods make an excellent snap-bean. They are used only to a limited extent in the United States, principally by Chinese and other residents of Oriental birth or extraction, but are beginning to find favor among the white residents of California. They have long been cultivated in Hurope. Cowpeas, or pea-beans, or China beans, or black-eyed peas (or beans), or cornfield peas, are grown in many varieties, bearing seeds of different types and colors. Their principal use is for forage and soil enrichment but they po e pleasing flavor and considerable quantities are eaten like other beans—in all stvles—string, shelled green, and dried. They are best if gathered when they begin to turn color. The Lab-lab, or hyacinth, or bonavist, or Egyptian kidney, bean (Dolichos lablab) —widely cultivated in India and other Asiatic countries—is under good southern conditions a heavy yielder of fruit that is excellent both as string and dried beans. There are two chief types—a white-seeded and a black-seeded. The pods are flat, short, and wrinkled. The vines are frequently grown as ornamental plants—they are attractive for arbor coverings, bearing dense clusters of sweet-scented blo oms. The Scarlet Runier is known here principally as an ornamental climber but it is largely cultivated in Europe, especially in England, for both string and green beans. The Tepary (Phaseolus acutifolius, var. latifolius) is a small bean native to the southwest United States. It has lately received increasingly serious attention as a dried bean because of its productivity and its adaptability to southwest conditions.. 2 - < we x beans ‘‘down South ol It is found in numerous colors—white, yellowish, brown, blackish —both uniform and; flecked or spotted. In general contour it suggests a kidney-bean—varying as that does—but some strains (including those chiefly cultivated) are markedly flattened. Its defect is a very tough skin which nece itates long soaking, and a rather strong flavor which is not always enjoyed at the first taste. ' See also the references to the Jfung bean in the article on Bean Sprovts. Selecting and cooking dried kidney-beans. Well dried, mature beans are smooth and shiny. They should also be of uniform size and appear a nee, or they may not soften or cook uniformly. Otherwise, size is chiefly a matter of individual or local preference. The most important qualification is that they should cook soft. Color, other things being equal, is unimportant. The prejudice against beans that grow dark in cooking is unfortunate, for many of them are of fine quality and flavor, and frequently more tender than the very white. The first step in household cooking is the swelling of the bean and softening of the skin by soaking in cold water for generally not le than eight hours. Sume cooks cover with hot-water so as to shorten the time, but the cold water method is preferable. The large lima beans after soaking may be easily slipped out of their skins by pre ing between the fingers. Many other kinds may be freed from their skins by sieving or stirring in water, the skins rising to the top and being then skimmed off. After this proce , beans can be boiled and served in many ways, whole, mashed as ‘‘bean pudding,’’ in boups, ete. The United States exports a considerable quantity of dried beans—the best markets being England and Cuba—but this is offset by importations, chiefly from Japan. Food Value. Beans, as also peas, are rich in food value. Even when immature, or ‘Coreen,’’ they are much more nutritious than most vegetables of popular use, and when ripe, or ‘‘dry,’”’ they carry a high percentage of both protein and carbohydrates and a goodly supply of phosphorus, calcium, and iron (see general article on Foon Vatves). With the exception of the soy-he an, it is, though, nece ary to heavily discount the analytical protein credit, for much of the protein is una imilable by the human system. The ordinary bean—valuahle though it is—cannot be substituted for milk or meat or other protein providers for any considerable period without detriment to the health of the individual. The he an’s lack of fat (excepting always the soy-bean) explains the general addition of fat, as pork.