LEGUMES.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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_Fresh Legumes_:
String beans ......... 89.2 2.3 0.3 7.4 0.8 195
Shelled limas ........ 68.5 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 570
Shelled peas ......... 74.6 7.0 0.5 16.9 1.0 465
_Dried Legumes_:
Lima beans ........... 10.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 1625
Navy beans ........... 12.6 22.5 1.8 59.6 3.5 1605
Lentils .............. 8.4 25.7 1.0 59.2 5.7 1620
Dried peas ........... 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 1655
Soy beans ............ 10.8 34.0 16.8 33.7 4.7 1970
Peanuts .............. 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2560
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Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with the
conditions under which the foods are grown and is not always even
approximately the same.
The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables.
The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteid
foods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are the
cheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are very
important foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormous
quantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, the
poor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they make
the soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe and
is gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with a
flavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminous
plants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively as
food for man and beast.
These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean being
exceptionally rich in protein.
These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and of
producing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest than
some other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simple
combinations and in moderation, provided they have been properly
prepared.
It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoid
overeating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed without
proper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of these
rich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gas
production.
One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean or
St. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. It
grows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. It
is so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to the
fact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he did
he must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint really
devoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believe
that he was a vegetarian.
COOKING.
The fresh young legumes are to be considered in the same class as
succulent vegetables, which are dealt with in the next chapter.
Ripe peas, beans and lentils may be cooked alike.
In cooking ripe legumes, try to get as soft water as possible. Hard
water contains salts of lime and magnesia and these prevent the
softening of the legumes.
_Bean soup_: Clean the beans and wash them. Let them soak over night.
Cook them in the same water in which they have been soaked, until
tender. They are to be cooked in plain water without any seasoning and
with the addition of neither fats, starches nor other vegetables. When
the beans are done, meat stock and other vegetables may be added, if
desired. Pea soup is made in the same way.
The reason for not draining away the water in which the beans are soaked
is that it takes up some of the valuable salts, the phosphates for
instance. The addition of seasoning or fat while they are cooking makes
the beans indigestible.
_Baked beans_: Clean and wash well. Soak them over night. Let them boil
about three and one-half to four hours, using the water in which they
were soaked. Then put them into the oven to bake. They are to be cooked
plain and no fat or seasoning is to be added while they are baking.
After they are done you may add some form of fatty dressing, such as
bacon, which has been stewed in a separate dish, or you may dress them
with butter and salt when they are served. Cooked this way they digest
much more easily than when cooked in the ordinary way with tomatoes and
grease. Some prefer to add either sugar or molasses to the beans when
they are put into the oven. Avoid too much sweetening. Lentils may be
baked in the same way.
_Boiled beans_: The same as bean soup, except that less water is used.
Dressing may be the same as for baked beans. Lentils and peas may be
treated in the same way.
Beans and corn may be cooked together.
COMBINATIONS.
The legumes are so very rich that they should be eaten in very simple
combinations. It is best to take them with some of the raw salad
vegetables and nothing else, or with the raw salad vegetables and one of
the stewed succulent vegetables. The legumes contain all the protein and
all the force food the body needs, so it is useless to add meat, bread
and potatoes. Tomatoes and other acid foods should not be used in the
same meal, yet beans and tomatoes or beans and catsup are very common
combinations.
A plate of bean soup makes a good lunch. Bean soup or baked or boiled
beans with succulent vegetables, raw and cooked, give all the
nourishment needed in a dinner.
Pea and bean flours can be purchased on the market. These flours can not
be made into dough, but they may be used for thickening. They contain
more protein than ordinary flour.
Both peas and beans may be roasted, but they are rather difficult to
masticate. Roasted peas have a fine flavor. Roasted peanuts are a
nutritious food, and may be taken in place of peas or beans.
More legumes and less flesh foods will help to reduce the cost of
living. Taken in moderation and well masticated, the legumes are
excellent foods.