As I promised yesterday, I will list the most popular and common types of beans and will reveal some interesting nutritious facts about them.
Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Common beans are great source of phosphorus, iron, protein, magnesium, manganese, potassium, antioxidants, folic acid, and vitamin B6.
- White beans – navy beans, French haricots, Italian cannellini, Great Northern
- Red beans – kidney beans, New Orleans red beans
- Pinto beans – most common beans in the USA and Mexico; Pinto bean varieties include Sierra, Burke, Othello and Maverick
- Black beans – black turtle bean, also known as frijoles negro, is a great source of natural antioxidants; very popular in Latin America
- Brown beans – often called Swedish beans
- Pink beans – Santa Maria pinquito
- Yellow beans – Sulphur, Mayocoba Peruano beans
- String or Snap beans – green beans – the immature pods of any kind of bean; popular dish with green beans is green bean casserole
Lima or Butter Beans (Phaseolus lunatus)
Also known as Haba bean, Burma bean, Guffin bean, Hibbert bean, Java bean, Sieva bean, Rangood bean, Madagascar bean, Civet bean and Sugar bean.
Used both as fresh vegetable and as a dry beans. Dry beans require twelve hours soaking before cooking; both soaking and cooking water should be discarded to eliminate flatulence. Popular dish with lima beans is the Spanish paella.
Read about more types of bean in my next post Part II.
