We have all heard the expression "it isn’t worth a hill of beans" or perhaps "that’s just a load of beans" - these sayings all referring to the common bean, white pea bean, or navy bean. But while they may be cheap, beans can be of enormous value to smallholder farmers and in my opinion, also deserve to be lifted from their humble place in western culinary culture and their limited association with marines who had nothing better to eat at the bottom of the ocean.
The much neglected bean is a staple food for much of the world’s population and an excellent source of protein for those who are unable to afford meat on a regular basis. There should really be nothing vulgar about phaseolus vulgaris, which is the Latin name for our common bean. Yes of course beans also supply a considerable amount of roughage, but this characteristic does not detract from their nutritional value as one of the most complete staple foods in the world.
A single serving of common beans in one cup provides approximately half of the United States Department of Agriculture’s recommended daily allowance of folic acid (iron). What is more, beans provide 25 percent of the daily dose of magnesium and copper as well as 15 percent of potassium and zinc intake.
Some of the important varieties of beans that are found in Mozambique include:
Feijão nhemba (which is the most common somewhat darker navy bean found in Mozambique)
Feijão manteiga (a cousin of the lima bean that the Portuguese landed in Madagascar)
Feijão boer (a specific variety of cowpeas associated with the Boers who cultivated them)
Prior to its domestication in the Andes region and central America approximately 7000 years ago, common beans were known to grow practically as weeds in fields of cassava and sweet potatoes, and through their domestication gained in complexity and their drought resistance. Beans came with the Portuguese traders to Sub-saharan Africa, but since then have become the single largest source of dietary protein for more than 70 million individuals today living in the region.
So next time you are counting beans in your corner office, or wherever you happen to be, remember that if you had a cup of beans at lunch, you might just have more energy to take you through the afternoon and then you can think of the Nicaraguans who consume upwards of 22 kilograms of beans per year, or the Rawandans who are coming on strong, with a third of their total calories coming from beans!
The much neglected bean is a staple food for much of the world’s population and an excellent source of protein for those who are unable to afford meat on a regular basis. There should really be nothing vulgar about phaseolus vulgaris, which is the Latin name for our common bean. Yes of course beans also supply a considerable amount of roughage, but this characteristic does not detract from their nutritional value as one of the most complete staple foods in the world.
A single serving of common beans in one cup provides approximately half of the United States Department of Agriculture’s recommended daily allowance of folic acid (iron). What is more, beans provide 25 percent of the daily dose of magnesium and copper as well as 15 percent of potassium and zinc intake.
Some of the important varieties of beans that are found in Mozambique include:
Feijão nhemba (which is the most common somewhat darker navy bean found in Mozambique)
Feijão manteiga (a cousin of the lima bean that the Portuguese landed in Madagascar)
Feijão boer (a specific variety of cowpeas associated with the Boers who cultivated them)
Prior to its domestication in the Andes region and central America approximately 7000 years ago, common beans were known to grow practically as weeds in fields of cassava and sweet potatoes, and through their domestication gained in complexity and their drought resistance. Beans came with the Portuguese traders to Sub-saharan Africa, but since then have become the single largest source of dietary protein for more than 70 million individuals today living in the region.
So next time you are counting beans in your corner office, or wherever you happen to be, remember that if you had a cup of beans at lunch, you might just have more energy to take you through the afternoon and then you can think of the Nicaraguans who consume upwards of 22 kilograms of beans per year, or the Rawandans who are coming on strong, with a third of their total calories coming from beans!
