"legumes" news and stories

We think of many foods as being nuts, but what are they really? Nuts are seeds, but not all seeds are nuts. Specifically a nut is a dry fruit with usually one, but sometimes two or more seeds. These seeds are contained in a hard wall derived from the ovary and remain unattached to the wall. Seeds can be removed from the fruit, but nuts are compound ovaries which are the seed and fruit combined. Not all nuts are edible, some are just too small, and others can be very bitter. Culinarily we label many seeds as nuts when they are not. Peanuts are actually legumes. Cashews are a "false fruit" that forms off the end of the cashew flower. Many "nuts" such as almonds, pistachios, and coconuts are actually drupes. Drupes are when a fleshy outside layer surrounds a hard walled seed, such as a peach. Pine nuts are coniferous seeds. Macadamias are kernels of seeds. Did you know that macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs?

Nuts are high in protein and fats, but the fats tend to be the type that are actually a healthy part of our diet. Especially those found in almonds and walnuts. Nuts have many other nutritional and dietary benefits; Pine nuts may curb the appetite and Pecans are good for your heart. So don't feel too bad about eating all those nuts during the holidays, just don't go overboard, and enjoy going nuts.

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We already know that beans cause, well, everything from a slight rumble to a major quake in the gut. In fact, it's such a gaseous problem that researchers have been trying to figure out ways to reduce the amount of the complex sugar oligosaccharide in the beans themselves. However, until that research is complete, perhaps you can avoid the embarassment by remembering which beans cause the greatest amount of rumble in the gut. The beans are listed from highest to lowest (highest oligosaccharide content, therefore causing the most gas):

1. Soybeans - watch out for that edamame hummus!
2. Peas
3. Black beans and pinto beans
4. White beans
5. Great Northern beans
6. Lima beans
7. Garbanzo beans (aka ceci beans or chickpeas)
8. Black eyed peas

Grains, beans, and other legumes make up a large part of the Asian diet. In fact, at the Korean market, entire aisles can be dedicated to beans alone. Koreans add beans to white rice, creating a "mixed" steamed rice. My mother did this a few times when we were kids because there are a lot of health benefits, but when we saw bowls of steamed rice tainted with giant red, purple, and black beans, we wouldn't touch it. She made two pots of rice every night after that. One with plain white rice, and one with a mixture.

Some of us may be familiar with adzuki beans after they have been cooked down to almost a paste. They beans are sweet and nutty, but they are made sweeter with the addition of sugar and honey and used as a filling in pastries like Japanese mochi and Korean dduk. Koreans also use the beans to make "jook," a sweet porridge.

More Korean market food finds:
Dae chu - Korean red dates, aka jujubes
Ume (Japanese plum) cactus honey
All-in-one packaged sahm-gyae-tahng - Korean chicken soup
Ready-steamed bahp - rice
Clam jerky
Bahn-chan bar - salad bar of Korean side dishes