A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways, including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame, but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking.
The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean named for its resemblance to a human kidney.
The pinto bean is a variety of common bean. In Spanish they are called frijoles pintos. It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, and is most often eaten whole, or mashed and then refried. Prepared either way, it is a common filling for burritos, tostadas, or tacos in Mexican cuisine, also as a side or as part of an entrée served with a side tortilla or sopaipilla in New Mexican cuisine.
The black gram or urad bean is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative, the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the Phaseolus to the Vigna genus. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, whereas the split bean is called white lentil. It should not be confused with the much smaller true black lentil.
Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean, although immature or young pods of the runner bean, yardlong bean, and hyacinth bean are used in a similar way. Green beans are known by many common names, including French beans, string beans, and snap beans or simply "snaps." In the Philippines, they are also known as "Baguio beans" or "habichuelas" to distinguish them from yardlong beans.
Moros y Cristianos is a traditional Cuban dish served both in homes and in restaurants. It is the Cuban version of rice and beans, a dish found throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and in the Southern United States.
The navy bean, haricot bean, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than many other types of white beans, and has an oval, slightly flattened shape. It features in such dishes as baked beans, various soups such as Senate bean soup, and bean pies.
Frijoles negros is a Latin American dish made with black beans, prepared in Guatemala, Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other nations in Latin America. The black bean, a legume of the species Phaseolus vulgaris, is usually purchased in either canned or dried form. One cup of dried black beans yields approximately 2+1⁄2 cups of cooked beans. Black bean soup is another commonly prepared Cuban favorite.
Rice and beans, or beans and rice, is a category of dishes from many cultures around the world, whereby the staple foods of rice and beans are combined in some manner. The grain and legume combination provides several important nutrients and many calories, and both foods are widely available. The beans are usually seasoned, while the rice may be plain or seasoned. The two components may be mixed together, separated on the plate, or served separately.
Honduran cuisine is a fusion of Mesoamerican, Spanish, Caribbean and African cuisines. There are also dishes from the Garifuna people. Coconut and coconut milk are featured in both sweet and savory dishes. Regional specialties include sopa de caracol, fried fish, tamales, carne asada and baleadas. Other popular dishes include meat roasted with chismol and carne asada, chicken with rice and corn, and fried fish with pickled onions and jalapeños. In the coastal areas and the Bay Islands, seafood and some meats are prepared in many ways, including with coconut milk. Among the soups the Hondurans enjoy are bean soup, mondongo soup, seafood soups and beef soups. Generally all of these soups are mixed with plantains, yuca, and cabbage, and served with corn tortillas.
Split peas are an agricultural or culinary preparation consisting of the dried, peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum, the pea.
Rice and peas or peas and rice is a traditional rice dish in some Caribbean and Latin American countries. The type of peas used in this dish by some countries is traditionally pigeon peas, otherwise called gungo peas by Jamaicans. Kidney beans and other similar varieties are typically used in the Greater Antilles and coastal Latin America. Rice and peas recipes vary throughout the region, with each country having their own way(s) of making them and name(s)—with the two main ingredients being legumes and rice, combined with herbs, spices and/or coconut milk.
The cranberry bean is a variety of common bean first bred in Colombia as the cargamanto. It is also known as the Borlotti bean, Roman bean, romano bean, saluggia bean, gadhra bean orrosecoco bean. The bean is a medium to large tan or hazelnut-colored bean splashed or streaked with red, magenta or black.
Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots of many bamboo species including Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and broths. They are sold in various processed shapes and are available in fresh, dried, and canned versions.
The Appaloosa bean is a cultivar bean variety of the species Phaseolus vulgaris.
Besan or gram flour is a pulse flour made from chana dal or chickpea flour or brown/kaala chana, a chickpea. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines.
The Calypso bean, pickle bean, orca bean, or yin yang bean, is a bean cultivar of the species Phaseolus vulgaris.
Stew peas is a Jamaican stew made with beans, salted meat, coconut milk, herbs and spices. It is a common dish in Jamaica, however a number of variations and similar dishes are made throughout the Americas. With the main ingredients being legumes and meats, stew peas contains a considerable amount of protein.
