Rice and beans

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Beans and rice
Rice and beans, Hotel in Itatiaia.jpeg
Rice and brown beans served in a hotel in the southeast Brazilian countryside. The dish may be accompanied by meat, bread, eggs, vegetables, etc.
Course Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Region or stateWorldwide
Main ingredients Rice, beans
VariationsRegional variations

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.

Contents

Description

Kidney beans and rice Rajma, kidney beans, served with chawal, rice.jpg
Kidney beans and rice

The dish usually consists of white or brown rice accompanied by cooked brown, red or black dry beans (typically Phaseolus vulgaris or Vigna unguiculata ) and seasoned in various ways. This dish is also commonly served with sides of stewed chicken, pork, beef, potato salad, boiled potatoes, and many other sides from many different cultures. In many areas, beans and rice are often served side by side rather than combined. Either way, they may be considered a meal, frequently with a topping of meat or chicken. Meat or other ingredients are sometimes placed atop beans and rice or, less frequently, mixed into it.

Different regions have different preferences. In Brazil, for example, black beans are more popular in Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, while in most other parts of the country these are mostly only used in feijoadas. The New Orleans specialty known as "red beans and rice" is often accompanied by a side of smoked sausage or a fried pork chop.

History

The Americas

Genetic analyses of the common bean Phaseolus shows that it originated in Mesoamerica, and subsequently spread southward, along with maize and squash, traditional companion crops. [1] Asian rice was introduced to Latin America during the colonial era by the Spanish and the Portuguese. However, it has recently been discovered that the indigenous peoples of the Amazon had already cultivated a distant relative of Asian rice of the same genus Oryza some 4,000 years ago, [2] and were growing it alongside maize and squash, traditional companion crops of beans, which were also by that time present in South America. Some recent scholarship suggests that enslaved Africans may also have played an active role in the establishment of rice in the New World. [3] [4] It is also one of the most common foods in some Spanish-speaking countries.

Nutritional significance

Beans and rice are both nutritious ingredients. Rice is rich in starch, making it a good source of energy. Rice also has iron and some protein. Beans also contain iron and a greater amount of protein in comparison to rice. Together they make up a complete protein, which provides large quantities of each of the amino acids the body cannot produce by itself. [5]

Culture

In some Latin American states and countries, beans and rice are commonly eaten as everyday lunch, along with a different variety of meats and vegetables. It is also common to prepare dinner using the lunch leftovers. Beans and rice are especially popular in Brazil, which is the world's third largest producer of dry beans [6] and the largest consumer of rice in the Americas. [7]

International dishes and variations

Red beans and rice Red Beans and Rice.jpg
Red beans and rice

Worldwide, there are many dishes with a base of beans and rice, which vary in their cooking and additional ingredients. Variations exist regionally, as cultures shape the dishes to their own preferences. In countries near or in the Caribbean, these dishes are simply known as rice and beans, in which the dish is cooked in coconut milk, the following is a list of variations:

Other languages

Enchiladas, with Mexican rice and beans Enchiladas rice beans.jpg
Enchiladas, with Mexican rice and beans

Rice and beans is referred to as arroz y habas, arroz con habichuelas, arroz con frijoles, gallo pinto, recalentao or similar in Spanish; arroz e feijão, arroz com feijão or feijão com arroz in Portuguese; diri ak pwa in Haitian Creole; and avas kon arroz or avikas kon arroz in Judaeo-Spanish.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fried rice</span> Asian rice dish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black turtle bean</span> Small, shiny variety of the common bean

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pabellón criollo</span> Traditional Venezuelan rice and bean dish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colombian cuisine</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honduran cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuchifritos</span> Various fried foods prepared principally of pork

Cuchifritos or cochifritos refers to various fried foods prepared principally of pork in Spanish and Puerto Rican cuisine. In Spain, cuchifritos are a typical dish from Segovia in Castile. The dish consists of pork meat fried in olive oil and garlic and served hot. In Puerto Rico they include a variety of dishes including morcilla, papas rellenas, and chicharron, and other parts of the pig prepared in different ways. Some cuchifritos dishes are prepared using plantain as a primary ingredient. Cuchifritos vendors also typically serve juices and drinks such as passionfruit, pineapple, and coconut juice, as well as ajonjolí, a drink made from sesame seeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominican Republic cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of the Dominican Republic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice and peas</span> Traditional Caribbean food

Rice and peas or peas and rice are traditional rice dishes within some Caribbean countries. The 'peas' used in this dish by some countries are traditionally pigeon peas otherwise called 'Gungo peas' in the Caribbean. Either kidney beans or pigeon peas are generally used for this dish. Rice and peas recipes throughout the Caribbean vary, with each country having their own way of making it and name of calling it, and are similar only by the two main ingredients which are the legumes (peas/beans) used and rice to form a mixture. The name "rice and peas" originally is used by Jamaicans to identify the dish, while other countries have different names for it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guatemalan cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coconut rice</span> Coconut-flavoured rice

Coconut rice is a dish prepared by cooking white rice in coconut milk or coconut flakes. As both the coconut and the rice-plant are commonly found in the tropics all around the world, coconut rice, too, is found in many cultures throughout the world, spanning across the equator from Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, South America, Central America, West Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroz con gandules</span> Puerto Rican rice and pork dish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moro de guandules</span> Dish from Puerto Rico

Moro de guandules is a rice and pigeon pea dish from the Dominican Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asopao</span> Stew originating in Puerto Rico

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References

  1. Bitocchi, Elena; Nanni, Laura; Bellucci, Elisa; Rossi, Monica; Giardini, Alessandro; Zeuli, Pierluigi Spagnoletti; Logozzo, Giuseppina; Stougaard, Jens; McClean, Phillip; Attene, Giovanna; Papa, Roberto (2012). "Mesoamerican origin of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is revealed by sequence data". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (14): E788–E796. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108973109 . PMC   3325731 . PMID   22393017.
  2. Hilbert, Lautaro; Neves, Eduardo Góes; Pugliese, Francisco; Whitney, Bronwen S.; Shock, Myrtle; Veasey, Elizabeth; Zimpel, Carlos Augusto; Iriarte, José (2017). "Evidence for mid-Holocene rice domestication in the Americas". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1 (11): 1693–1698. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0322-4. hdl: 10871/33891 . PMID   28993622. S2CID   256727214.
  3. Carney, Judith A. (2001-04-30). Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas. Cambridge, Mass. London: Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-00452-8.
  4. National Research Council (1996-02-14). "African Rice". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. Lost Crops of Africa. Vol. 1. National Academies Press. ISBN   978-0-309-04990-0 . Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  5. Schacter, Illana (2021-08-28). "The Role of Rice and Beans: Nutrition as Medical Treatment". The Cornell Healthcare Review. Cornell University . Retrieved 2023-05-04. Forming a complete protein and supplying all nine essential amino acids, rice and beans have been a staple food for millennia.
  6. "Countries by commodity -- Beans, Dry". FAOSTAT. FAO. 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. "Rice around the world -- Brasil". International Year of Rice. FAO. 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2018.

Bibliography