Pulses - garden beans, peas, mung beans, chickpeas, soybeans, beans, lentils, dipterix

[Legumes - garden beans, peas, mung bean, chickpeas, soy, beans, lentils, dipterix]

Legumes - garden beans, peas, mung bean, chickpeas, soy, beans, lentils, dipterix

Legumes are a unique product. They are tasty, nutritious and extremely healthy: legumes are high in fiber, vitamins (A and B), iron, calcium, carbohydrates, and almost a quarter of protein (and in some types of legumes, much more).

Legumes were grown in ancient Rome, and in Greece, and in Ancient Egypt (in the tombs of the pharaohs, archaeologists find peas, beans and lentils). However, even today their dishes can be found almost everywhere.
Only here is confusion with the names: what in one country is considered peas, in another they are called beans or beans. Let's try to figure it out ...

What is the value of legumes?
First of all, legumes have a lot of protein and this protein is close in composition to meat proteins. But meat contains 15% protein, and beans - up to 30%.
The value of beans is in their high content of vitamins, essential amino acids and mineral salts. They contain vitamins C, PP, A, E, group B vitamins, salts of potassium, iron, phosphorus, calcium.
Legumes are high in carbohydrates, however, these are mainly fruit carbohydrates (glucose, fructose), which ensures their absorption without the participation of insulin. That is why legumes are indicated for diabetics.

No matter what color the beans are (red, white, brown), they all have in common that they are good for heart health.
If you add 100 g of dry beans to my food daily (one cup of boiled), then blood cholesterol will decrease by 19%.

The inclusion of brown beans in the diet lowers cholesterol by 12 mg.
Beans have been proven to promote better digestion (this is a note for those with constipation).

All types of beans are high in protein and low in fat, high in potassium and low in sodium. They contain thiamine and iron.
Here, by the way, to say about green beans - vegetarian food, suppliers of iron to our body. Not only meat, but also plant products can provide us with iron. Half a cup of freshly brewed green beans (100 g) has 1 mg of iron and only 20 calories.

Foods that provide iron with so few calories deserve our closest attention.

Beans are contraindicated with gout, acute nephritis, exacerbations of inflammatory processes of the stomach and intestines, with chronic circulatory failure.
In cosmetics, decoction of flowers, mashed beans (desalted) are used.
Since there are many varieties of beans, here are the comparative data on their calorie and fat content.

The most calories in beans are: black (132), white (143), pinto (151), soy (173), and small chickpeas (171). Fewer calories in lima beans, fava, lentils and beans.
The most fat is in chickpeas and soybeans (2 and 9 g, respectively).

[GARDEN BEANS]

GARDEN BEANS


They are also called English, Asian, horse or fodder. In Europe, for a long time - before the discovery of America - they were the only legumes that were eaten, and still occupy a very honorable place in the Mediterranean cuisine. This is understandable: they have a lot of vitamins and protein, but there are less indigestible sugars in the body than in other legumes.

Fresh green beans

Green beans are sold in thick-skinned, inedible pods. To make sure that the beans inside are really fresh, it is better to open one of the pods: the beans inside should be smooth, firm, shiny.To get them, the pods are blanched in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes - and they open. Green beans are eaten raw, added to soups, stewed with other vegetables.

Dried beans



The dried beans are flat oval grains of light brown color. Unlike green beans, they are soaked for 8-10 hours before cooking, after which they are cooked in the same way as fresh ones.

Tips for buying legumes
Dry beans should be shiny, clean, uniform in color and size, and not wrinkled in any way.

Green beans (pods) should be bright green in color without any spots. You need to choose small pods, and ignore those that are thicker than a pencil. If the pods are bent, do not open, then the beans are stale. (We inform about this just in case, suddenly, soon enough, we will have green beans and green beans in sufficient quantities).

Green beans harvested when the pods reach the stage of technical ripeness - still fragile, juicy, without fibers, with barely formed seeds. When they become coarse, they acquire an unpleasant taste and are not suitable for writing. Keep this in mind when purchasing green beans.

Unlike green pea pods, which you can chew with pleasure, green beans should not be eaten raw, as they contain toxic substances (they are destroyed when cooked).

Dry beans best stored in a tightly closed jar in a cool place.

Wash the green beans, but do not wipe them, put them in a plastic bag with holes and put them in the refrigerator. There, they will remain fresh for up to 2 weeks. If you need to keep it longer, soak the beans in boiling water and hold for 3 minutes. Let dry, wrap in foil (or plastic) and freeze. They can be in this state for a year.
400 g of chopped green beans makes 4 cups. One cup of cooked beans has 44 calories.

TIPS FOR COOKING BEANS
• When preparing dry beans, rinse them well, remove all foreign particles. Place in boiled water and cover. Soak for four hours. Change the water. Remove the beans that float to the surface. Now boil the beans (the water should be two fingers above the beans). They will cook over high heat for 1-2 hours, depending on the variety, white beans are boiled especially for a long time.
• To soften the beans, salt them at the end of the boil and add sour wine.
• To speed up the process, the beans can be boiled in a pressure cooker. (Remember! You should never fill a pressure cooker with more than three-quarters of its volume with liquid. And another thing. Some nutrients are destroyed in a pressure cooker.)
• To check if the beans are ready, take 2-3 pieces in a spoon and blow on them: if the skin bursts, the beans are ready.
• Beans of all colors can be used in salads, soups, grilled meats.
• Dry beans (boiled) are widely used in Mexican dishes. Use any cookbook.
• Beans make a delicious puree and dressing sauce.
• Boiled beans are good in dishes with apples and other sweetish foods.
• Green beans are very tasty, their aroma can compete with mushroom, almond, pepper. Chop raw green beans and mix with canned tuna.
• Add chopped green beans to soup or stew.
• Green beans with dill, tarragon, peanuts, garlic go well with cheeses, fish and chicken.

[PEAS]

PEAS

The value of peas in their high content of nutrients is the most perfect food product.

Peas are indispensable for keeping the heart healthy, as they contain very little fat (in some varieties there is none at all), there is no cholesterol and sodium, but there are fibers that reduce blood cholesterol.

Peas help control diabetes because carbohydrates are made up of glucose and fructose, which travel (without insulin assistance) directly into the bloodstream.

And most importantly, thanks to the content of fiber, carotene and vitamin C (in the absence of fat), peas contribute to the prevention of cancer.

Especially valuable green peawhich is called a vitamin pill. In terms of calorie content, green peas are one and a half times higher than other vegetables. This is one of the most protein-rich vegetables, and its proteins contain very important amino acids - cystine, lysine, arginine, tryptophan, methionine and others.
It contains a large amount of vitamins C, PP, A, E, B, mineral salts and various trace elements.

The multivitamin content of green peas does not provide contraindications for its use in dietary nutrition.

Dry peas available to everyone, it can be stored for 10-12 years without prejudice to its medicinal and nutritional qualities.
Everything speaks for the fact that peas should be much more widely included in our menu. But...
It is contraindicated to consume dry peas with gout, acute nephritis, acute inflammatory processes in the stomach and intestines, with chronic circulatory failure.

Peas were eaten always, everywhere and practically by everyone. In the Middle East, archaeologists have discovered the remains of pea dishes, which are no less than 10 thousand years old. Despite such popularity, peas appeared in Russia only in the 18th century, and they were served at court as a delicacy. However, this fashion came from France. But in Greece, for example, peas were the food of the simplest people.

What is not done from peas! They cook porridge, soup, bake pies, make noodles, stuffing for pancakes, jelly and even pea cheese; in Asia it is fried with salt and spices, and in England pea pudding is popular. Such love for peas is understandable - it is not only tasty, but also healthy: it contains almost the same protein as beef, and besides, there are many important amino acids and vitamins.

All kinds of peas are divided for shelling and sugar.

In the folds of the pods shelling varieties contains a hard "parchment layer" due to which the pods are completely inedible. Such peas make a thick aromatic soup and porridge.

Have sugar varieties unripe pods and peas are edible. They are eaten fresh, canned, frozen. Once in Russia - in the Yaroslavl province - gardeners came up with a clever way to dry sugar peas and even exported it to other countries.

The shape of the peas also differs: round, with a smooth surface (when ripe, they become starchy); and “brain” - when they dry up, they become uneven, wrinkled - and really look like brains. The sweetest and tastiest are the brain varieties.

Cuff ("shoulder blades")


If the sugar peas are harvested unripe, they can be eaten directly with the pods. In Europe it is called “mange tout” (from the French mange tout - “eat everything”), but in our country it is called “shoulder blades”. In China and Thailand, these bright green thin pods with a pleasant fresh scent are sure to be added to fried vegetable dishes.

Unripe green peas


Unripe green peas are mostly brain varieties. These are the same peas that are frozen or canned. Mash it with mint, lemon juice, yogurt and olive oil for a delicious snack.

Ripe peas


Ripe peas happen whole, or shelled (hard yellow peas), and chipped (halved peas). It is from it that a thick aromatic soup is cooked. In Southeast Asia, whole split peas are fried, salted, spiced, and eaten as a snack. Pudding is made from split peas in England. In Russia, not only soup and porridge, but also noodles, jelly, and even cheese were made from peas. Both whole and split dry peas must be soaked for at least 10 hours and only then cooked. Moreover, the whole one is cooked for about an hour and a half, and the chopped one - three times faster, about 30 minutes.
Purchase and storage
Small round peas are the so-called garden peas. Dry peas are clean, even yellowish-green in color. In autumn, peas are sold in pods. Choose full, firm and crisp greens.In flat pods, peas are immature, and in withered ones, they are dried.

Pods should be crisp, without gray spots.
Fresh green peas deteriorate quickly, and the ripening processes in it continue after harvesting. This product does not tolerate long-term transportation and storage. At normal temperatures, in just 2-3 days, it loses its nutritional and healing qualities.

Green pea canned and frozen for long-term storage.

Canned peas, of course, inferior in taste and nutritional value to fresh ones, frozen peas are tasty, but not very attractive.

[BEANS]

BEANS

Like all legumes, beans are rich in proteins and, thanks to amino acids, they are absorbed without the help of insulin by 60-75%. This is very important for patients with diabetes mellitus.

Beans contain a lot of carbohydrates (fructose, glucose), vitamins, especially of group B and ascorbic acid, inulin, flavonoids, organic acids (malic, citric), trace elements.

Bean dishes are useful for treating hypocidal gastritis, atherosclerosis and cardiac arrhythmias.
Young beans are especially useful, the unripe fruits of which are especially rich in protein.

Young beans are used for food at the stage of technical ripeness, when their pods are fragile, juicy, tender, without fibers, and the seeds are no more than a wheat grain. Various and tasty dishes are prepared from young beans, and they are canned in order to preserve them for future use.
For medicinal purposes, use the shells (husks) of beans.

Beans can be eaten at any stage of ripening: tender green pods, and barely formed sweet soft beans, and tough, ripe beans that jump out of dry shriveled pods themselves.

Only the approach to them needs a special one: you need to handle capricious green pods and beans with caution and gentleness, do not bother in vain and try not to digest.

But mature bean beans have no sugar character, you have to be stricter with them: soak overnight, cook for two hours, or even more - so that they soften, plump up and give all the taste, all the vitamins.

Green beans


Green beans - tender, crunchy, new-born pods that are no more than a week old - are eaten whole, without removing the barely formed grains. This variety of beans came to Russia only in the 16th century, from France (see French beans), and at first as an ornamental plant. There are many varieties of green beans: long Chinese, Kenyan, yellow waxy and so-called "dragon tongues", which appear in Moscow in the spring at vegetable markets. Green beans are prepared quite quickly: in boiling water it should be boiled (or better blanched) for no more than 5-6 minutes, for a couple - about 8-10. Frozen beans are generally cooked for 2-3 minutes. The tips of the pods are usually cut off before cooking - they are quite tough, and in some varieties, fibers passing along the edge of the pod are also removed. After the specified time, the beans need to be thrown into a colander and ruthlessly poured with cold water - then it will definitely not fall apart, it will be bright green, plump, appetizing. The main thing is not to digest.

Long chinese beans


Long Chinese beans (also called snake, asparagus or yard beans) are distinguished by the extraordinary length of the pods - up to 50 centimeters. There are two varieties of these beans: dark and light (both are green). Light is much more tender than dark - softer and does not crunch, and it almost does not need to be cooked. These beans come from Asia. There it is cooked with garlic, ginger and hot chili.

Draconic languages



Draconic tongues (in our country this variety of beans is also called Georgian or purple) are variegated yellow-purple pods 12-15 cm long. But this purple beans are only raw. As soon as you boil it or steam it, it immediately turns green. So, if you want to preserve the color of the dragon tongues, eat them raw.And if the pods have already become leathery and dense, the beans can be removed from them and cooked separately.

Yellow waxy beans


The pods of this type of bean are rather large, flat, with a characteristic pale yellow - "waxy" - color. However, despite the name, there are also purple ones. Yellow beans are prepared in a variety of ways: boiled, blanched, fried, steamed. However, you can not cook it at all, but eat it raw. It looks great in salads, soups, vegetable and meat stews.

Kenyan beans



Kenyan beans are one of the most expensive and popular types of green beans in our time. It is grown in Africa. Its pods are dark green and very thin - only half a centimeter in diameter. The taste is sweetish, with a nutty flavor. Kenyan beans are prepared very quickly - just a few minutes - and are very good in salads.

French Green Beans



Its pods are rather small and thin, only 7-10 cm in length, they taste sweet, tender and even after blanching remain crispy. Young pods may have a purple coating - this is normal.

Ripe beans



If the beans are left to ripen quietly in the garden, then the pods will dry out and open over time, releasing ripe, gaining strength grains. It is no longer possible to eat such beans raw - they will have to be soaked and cooked for quite a long time. However, it's worth it: tough, smooth, multi-colored beans contain a lot of protein (24-26 percent), which is close to animal in composition, but much easier to digest. This is probably why beans are one of the main components of vegetarian cuisine. In addition, mature beans can be germinated.

Azuki



Azuki are small oval reddish brown beans with a white stripe. Its other name is angular beans. Adzuki comes from Asia, where desserts are made from it - ice cream, jelly, sweets: first, they are soaked for 3-4 hours, and then boiled with sugar for half an hour.

White beans



White beans are considered versatile: they are medium in size, oval in shape and have a fairly neutral taste. Before cooking, you need to soak it overnight and then cook for an hour and a half. White beans produce a delicate homogeneous puree that is used in different ways in different traditions. For example, in Italy it is added to thick potato soups with herbs; put in pasta (pasta e fagioli), in Armenia - seasoned with crushed almonds with raisins and baked in the oven. White beans are especially widely used in Mediterranean cuisine.

Red beans



Red beans (kidney beans) are shaped like kidneys. It goes well with savory tomato sauces, onions, garlic and rosemary. Kidney is a staple ingredient in many Creole and Mexican dishes, including chili con carne. But this type of beans has one insidious feature: raw grains contain toxic substances, so it cannot be germinated, and before cooking it should be soaked for at least 8 hours, be sure to drain the water and only then cook until cooked for at least an hour.

Lima



Lima, or lima beans, are native to the Andes. It is quite large, it is white, black, red, and also spotted. For its pleasant oily taste, it is also called "oily". Lima is very good in thick tomato soups with aromatic herbs. But you need to soak it for a long time - at least 12 hours - and then cook it - as a rule, a little over an hour.

Pinto


Pinto, or motley beans, are medium-sized, oval, with pink-brown specks. Pinto is especially popular in the USA and Latin America. Soups are made from it, fried, mashed, which is then fried with spices; in Latin America, chili is prepared from it (a dish of beans, beef, onions, tomatoes, garlic, sweet, hot and black peppers), and a filling for burritos is made. Like many other types of beans, pinto should be soaked for 8-10 hours before cooking and only then cook for an hour and a half.

Black beans



The most common beans in Mexico and Brazil.It is usually prepared with lots of onions, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Soak it for 6-7 hours, and then boil it for an hour. They eat black beans with rice and meat, spiced with onions, garlic, cumin and oregano. In Mexico, it is most often not soaked, but is cooked for a very long time and patiently, adding at the end onions and garlic pre-fried over an open fire, as well as the irreplaceable herb Epasote.

Black eye



Medium-sized white beans with a black eye, very fresh in taste. This is a type of cowpea, cowpea. It is especially common in Africa (it comes from there), as well as in the southern United States and Iran. Before cooking, the black eye is soaked for 6-7 hours, and then for a relatively short time - 30-40 minutes - boiled. On New Year's Eve in the South American states, these beans are used to make a dish called Jumping John - with pork, fried onions, garlic, tomatoes, rice, thyme and basil. In Pakistan, boiled black eye is mixed with tomatoes, garlic, pepper, garam masala, ginger, turmeric, coriander and served with mint chutney and onion salad.

Purchase and storage
In summer, you can enjoy young beans in full force. It is not stored for long - only 2-3 days - in the refrigerator, wrapped in polyethylene.

To keep it longer, you have to preserve it.

Dry beans can be stored for a long time, but care must be taken not to get bugs in them. It is best to keep it in a tightly closed jar.
Bean shells are stored in bags.

[Lentils]

Lentils

Lentils are the most legendary of the legume genus. In the Old Testament, lentils are mentioned several times, but the most famous story, perhaps, is about lentil stew, for which Esau traded his birthright. To this day, lentils are sown in fields in Europe, Asia and North Africa.



Lentils are still used for stew, side dishes are made (often mixed with other cereals, for example, with rice - they have the same cooking time), lentil flour is used to bake bread, it is added to crackers, cookies and even chocolates. This popularity has its own reasons: lentils contain a lot of iron and vitamins of the group that are so necessary for a person, and 35 percent of lentil grains are vegetable protein, which is very easy to digest. In addition, lentils tend to boil quickly and do not require soaking.

In India, lentils and mashed potatoes are called dal. The most popular is urad dal, made from black lentils. Depending on the color and grain size, several varieties of lentils are distinguished: brown, red, puy, beluga, urad dal. Large varieties - up to five millimeters in diameter - are commonly called "plate" varieties.

In Latin, lentils are called lens. Nowadays, from this word, the name is given to optical lenses, which are similar in shape to lentils.

Benefit for health
Lentils contain 26% protein and are therefore an important part of the diet in many parts of the world, especially in South Asia, where the majority of the population is vegetarian.

Lentils are rich in magnesium and folate for heart health, as well as iron, B vitamins and potassium, which are essential for the cardiovascular system.

Preparation
Lentils do not take long to cook (especially small varieties such as red lentils). It is often used as a nutritious soup in Europe and the Americas. It is often mixed with rice, which takes about the same time to cook. In India, lentils are stewed with vegetables to the consistency of goulash, seasoned with spices. This is the required part of the dhala.

When cooking lentils, first sort through them to get rid of the stones. Then they need to be rinsed in a colander with small holes until the water runs clear. The amount of water or stock depends on how you cook it (in a saucepan or slow cooker) and other ingredients in the dish (for example, barley or rice requires a lot of water) Follow the directions in the recipe.

Green lentils


These are unripe brown lentils.It is not necessary to soak it before cooking, it cooks quite quickly, the main thing is not to digest it (which, however, is also not scary). If you add vegetables and herbs to green lentils - carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, parsley - you get an exquisite soup.

Brown lentils



Brown lentils are the most common. In Europe and North America, it is customary to cook thick soups with vegetables and aromatic herbs from it. Brown lentils are cooked a little longer than green lentils (30-40 minutes), and it would be good to soak them before cooking - better overnight.

Red (ginger) lentils


Red lentils are the "fastest" beans, they cook in just 10-15 minutes. If slightly undercooked, it will decorate almost any cold salad. And if you do not keep track, you will get an excellent side dish, golden-colored porridge - when cooking, the bright red color of lentils seems to fade away.

Puy (green French lentil)


Puy - This variety of lentils is named after a French town where it was bred. Her seeds are black-green, with a pungent taste and spicy aroma, moreover, they practically do not boil over, remain elastic, so it is best to put Puy lentils in salads.

Lentils "Beluga" - black lentils



Beluga is the smallest of all lentil varieties. The finished grains of this lentil really resemble beluga caviar - round, black, shiny. It is not necessary to soak the "beluga", it is cooked quite quickly - only 20 minutes.

Yellow lentils



Yellow lentils are actually the carefully peeled gray-green lentils that we are all used to seeing on store shelves. Uncoated lentils cook much faster
In India, yellow lentils can be called the same as red lentils - masur-dal (Masoor dahl)

Urad-dal


The grains are small, grayish-white, rectangular in shape. Urad-dal is twice as rich in protein as meat. It is often used in the preparation of snacks, or grinded into flour, made a batter and allowed to ferment to make the dish tender and light.

Mung dal


Hindi: dal Grains are small, pale yellow, rectangular in shape. This dal is obtained from mung beans, which are often used for germination. Mung-dal has a bland taste. It is easily digestible and well absorbed by the body, so it is recommended for children, old people and convalescent patients.

[Mash (mung dal)]

Mash (mung dal)



Mash, or mung dal, are small round grains, which have soft, sweetish seeds of a golden yellow color under a thick dark green or brown skin with a dark speck.

Mung bean is sold whole, peeled or chipped.

In India, mung beans are one of the most common foods from which a whole series of dishes are made under the general name "dal".
In China, sweet soup and flour are made from mung bean, and “cellophane” noodles are made from flour.
What is sold in our supermarkets as "soy sprouts" is actually sprouted mung bean. Unlike soybean sprouts, it can - and should be! - eat raw.
Delicate sprouts are good for stews or quick-fried vegetables - but only at the last minute, along with herbs.

You do not need to soak peeled mung bean before cooking - it does not cook for long, only 20-30 minutes. But it is better to leave whole mung bean in the water for the whole night.

Mung beans are often called a type of beans; this is not true: mung bean is a completely independent legume plant. In India, it is one of the most common products from which a whole series of dishes are made under the general name "dal".

Mash yellow



Green mash


Crushed green mash


White mash


Black mash

[Soya beans]

SOY

In China, soybeans have been cultivated for thousands of years, but in the West it became widely known only in the 60s of the last century. Of all legumes, this is the most potent source of protein.
Soy is the basis of many important foods - flour, sauce, milk, meat, tofu and miso paste.

Soya beans





Soybeans are small, light brown in color, round and wrinkled. They are cholesterol free and very rich in a wide variety of nutrients, including protein, which is easy to digest.But it's not that simple. In addition to nutrients, soybeans contain so-called inhibitors that interfere with the absorption of vital amino acids. So that they do not have time to harm us, soybeans must be soaked for at least 12 hours before cooking, drain this water, rinse, fill with fresh water and bring to a boil. The first hour soybeans should boil vigorously, and the next 2-3 hours - simmer.

It is almost impossible to find raw soybeans on sale, but there are many soy products: flour, sauce, milk and meat, tofu curd, miso paste, soy sprouts and yubu, yubu soy asparagus.

Soy milk



An excellent substitute for cow's milk: it contains almost no fat, no cholesterol at all, its protein is completely absorbed. To make the milk itself, soybeans are first soaked in water, and then rubbed through a fine sieve to remove the fibers (however, you can also use soy flour). However, the taste of this "milk" is not particularly expressive. Therefore, as a rule, vanillin, chocolate or spices, such as cardamom, are added to it. And in order to benefit from it even more, calcium and vitamins - D, B2 and B12 are introduced.

Soy milk does not yet contain lactose (milk sugar) and, of course, cow's milk proteins, to which young children with celiac disease are often allergic. However, regular soy milk (sold in supermarkets) in young children can cause flatulence and diarrhea, as it contains the remains of soybean shells, which are high in non-digestible carbohydrates (raffinose and stachyose). Therefore, for the nutrition of young children, formulas based on soy protein isolate have been created, which are purified from the above impurities and enriched with missing amino acids. The mixtures based on soy protein isolate for children of the 1st year of life, produced by reputable companies, do not contain GMOs. We believe they are safe and can be used as a milk replacer for young children with lactase deficiency and cow's milk protein intolerance.

Tofu, bean curd



Bean curd is made from curdled soy milk. It has a minimal fat content, absolutely no cholesterol, and more protein than any other plant product. Aromatic herbs, garlic, bell peppers, and even seaweed are often added to tofu to diversify the taste. How is it eaten? They are added to soups (for example, miso soup) and vegetable dishes and salads, fried in batter. Delicate, like heavy heavy cream, "silk" tofu is included in many desserts. Today, soy curd has been learned to make in many countries of the world, but the most delicious is still in China and Japan.

Soy meat



Soy meat is a textured soy protein. The defatted soy flour is pressed until the protein fibers change their structure. It is then that they are given the shape and texture of various meat products - minced meat, goulash or chops. Of course, this is not real meat, but it has more than half of the protein, little fat and no cholesterol at all. However, it also contains few isoflavones and vitamin B6 necessary for a person, but unfortunately, there are quite a lot of preservatives, flavors and dyes that can hardly be called beneficial to health.

Yubu



Surely you have repeatedly bought some "asparagus" from Koreans who sell a specific kind of snacks. In fact, this product has nothing to do with asparagus. These are foams collected from soy milk. They are dried, rolled into a rope, which is bent in the shape of the Latin letter V. If it looks like something, then it looks like bamboo, it is often called that - "bamboo yuba". It is soaked before use. Buddhist monks stuffed tightly with spices and soy sauce any half-and-half chicken or fish shapes. Then the mold was closed and placed in a double boiler for 50 minutes. A ready-made chicken (fish) was taken out of the open form - tender and without bones.

Soybean sprouts



Soybean sprouts are extremely useful: they contain active protein and almost all the vitamins a person needs.However, they cannot be eaten raw, they can be poisoned. To prevent this from happening, it is enough to blanch the soybean sprouts in boiling water for about 30 seconds.

Miso - pasta


Miso is a thick paste made from fermented soybeans to which a little salt and water are added. Light miso is lighter and sweeter, not too salty, it is used for salad dressings, added to various vegetable dishes. Dark miso (like red) is the base of the traditional Japanese miso soup. To get the right miso, soybeans are fermented in special wooden vats for several years, but modern technology makes it possible to do this in just a month and a half.

Soy flour



It is a valuable source of protein, unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, lecithin, B vitamins, iron, calcium. It is used in the preparation of flour, meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, cereals, curd culinary products. 1 tbsp. a spoonful of soy replaces 1 egg.

Application: dilute soy flour with water until thick sour cream (1 part flour for 1.5-2 parts of water), stand for 30 minutes. Add 20-50% to any culinary product.
In flour products they are used in dry form (1-2 tablespoons per 1 glass of grain flour).

[Chickpeas (garbanzo, Spanish, Turkish, poultry or mutton peas)]

Chickpeas (garbanzo, Spanish, Turkish, poultry or mutton peas)


It is believed that chickpeas were known and eaten by humans long before the beginning of our era. So in Greece, chickpea peas were found, the age of which is not less than 7.5 thousand years, and in Iraq, chickpea seeds, belonging to the "Bronze" Age, were preserved. In ancient times, chickpeas were often used not only as food, but also as a medicine. Its use helped to establish digestion, and compresses from young shoots helped to cope with skin diseases.

Chickpeas are sandy-yellow peas with a pointed top. Today, chickpeas are one of the most common legumes in the world.

Chickpeas have a very rich vitamin composition. It contains in sufficient quantities:
- lecithin, which has a tonic effect;
Chickpea seeds are rich in protein, the content of which, depending on the variety, ranges from 20% to 30%. This is slightly less than that of other members of the legume family, but this is "compensated" by the fact that the biological value of chickpea protein is much higher. It is more balanced in amino acid composition, as well as in the content of the main essential acids: methionine and tryptophan.

In terms of fat content, chickpeas surpass many legumes - in some varieties, its amount reaches 6-7%.

Using chickpeas
Chickpea seeds can be boiled, fried, added to soups, pilafs, used as side dishes, as well as for making pies and cutlets. From fried crushed seeds, small cutlets are prepared mixed with raisins, sesame seeds or walnuts (falafel). Chickpeas are used in the manufacture of canned food, which are highly nutritious and have good taste.

Chickpea seeds are used to make flour, the addition of which (in an amount of 10-20%) to wheat flour when baking bread and making confectionery and pasta, increases the nutritional value and taste of these products. Very useful cereals for baby food can be made from chickpeas.

It takes a very long time to prepare chickpeas. First, chickpeas need to be soaked for at least 12-14 hours, and then cook for at least an hour. However, you should not be zealous: after an hour the chickpeas are boiled down and turned into mashed potatoes. Chickpeas look great in various soups, vegetable stews and salads.

[DIPTERIX (tonka beans)]

DIPTERIX (tonka beans)





Dipteryx (tonka beans) is a tropical tree Dipteryx odorata of the legume family, growing in the north of South America (Guyana, Orinoco River region). The name of the tree in most European languages ​​goes back to the word tonka from the Galibi language, which is spoken by the indigenous people of French Guinea.

The egg-shaped pods of Dipteryx contain one sweet and fragrant seed - it is used as a substitute for vanilla, as well as for flavoring tobacco and confectionery.Cookbooks advise adding this spice to pastries and sweets based on coconut, walnuts and poppy seeds.

Tonka beans are sometimes used as a substitute for bitter almonds in countries where the sale of bitter almonds is prohibited or restricted by national laws.

The industrial collection center for Dipteryx is Venezuela, from where the pods are exported mainly to the USA. Fried seeds of another species - Dipteryx panamensis - are also used for food.