Types Of BeansHere is a list of common types of beans that are easy to include in your diet. If you are looking for more exotic bean types then asian markets are your best bet - but these beans listed below are readily available in supermarkets and health food shops.
Adzuki beans - also known as aduki beans, adsuki beans and red oriental - have a sweet and nutty taste and can be used in place of soya mince in vegan dishes for a nice healthy change. This is also good to know if you have a soya intolerance. Try making a nice adzuki bean shepherds pie or an adzuki bean chilli!!
Black beans - also known as turtle beans, black Spanish beans, Tampico beans, and Venezuelan beans - have a mild taste and are used in a variety of ways including black bean soup. These types of beans are also commonly eaten as a Cuban dish of black beans and rice. You can liquidize them and make them into a dip or just have them plain in a salad.
Black eyed beans - also known as black eyed peas, cowpeas and China beans - have a pea like flavour and can be used like any other bean. Try a black eyed bean curry or a black eyed bean casserole. Commonly used in Vietnam as a sweet dessert (with coconut and rice), and in South America black eyed beans are used to make a kind of caviar (with chopped garlic). As with most beans, you can buy black eyed beans uncooked from health food stores, or you can buy them tinned for ease of use.
Broad beans - also known as fava beans, field beans, windsor beans, bell beans and tic beans - are eaten when they are still young. They have a fresh flavour and a chewy texture and can be used in many recipes and fried as a snack. These types of beans should be shelled before eating as the outer covering has a woody texture which many will find unappealing. You can buy fresh broad beans at the local supermarket and they are also available in tins.
Cannellini beans - also known as white kidney beans and fazolia beans - are large white beans which are popular in Italy. They have a smooth texture and a nutlike flavour. These bean types can be bought either dried or in tins at supermarkets or health food shops. They are used in a variety of ways and can be used in salads, stews, soups and other dishes. Cannellini beans are a staple ingredient in minestrone soup.
Chickpeas - also known as also garbanzo beans, Indian peas, ceci beans and Bengal gram - have a mild nut like taste and a soft texture. They are commonly used to make houmus but can be used in currys and soups like most other beans. Buy them dried and cook them yourself or tinned for ease of use. They are also ground into a flour (called gram flour) and used to make falafels (a veggie favourite).
Green beans - also known as French beans, string beans and runner beans - are picked when they are immature and are one of the few bean types that can be eaten fresh. Commonly used as an ingredient in Salad Nicoise, green beans can be used and eaten like most other vegetables. You can buy green beans fresh or frozen.
Kidney beans - also called red beans - are commonly used in chilli recipes and can be bought either dried or in tins. You can also fill tacos with red kidney beans in place of non vegan ingredients. Another common use for these types of beans is a three bean salad. Red kidney beans are good used in any recipe where the beans are allowed to soak up the flavours, such as a curries and stews.
Lima beans - also known as Haba beans, sugar beans, butter beans, Guffin beans, civet beans, Hibbert beans, Pallar beans, Sieva beans, Madagascar beans, and Burma beans - have a starchy smooth flavour and can be purchased either dried or in tins. These types of beans can be eaten like most other beans - pop them into stews and soups or have them in salads.
Mung beans - also called green beans, mung beans, mash beans, green gram and green soya beans - are commonly used in Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Pakistan, Indian, and Southeast Asian cooking. Mung beans are also commonly sprouted and called bean sprouts. They are sweet flavoured and are delicious cooked with spices and seasonings. You can buy mung beans either dry or tinned from Indian groceries or health food shops.
Navy beans - also called haricot beans, Boston beans and pea beans - are a pale whitish bean with a mild flavour. Commonly used in American cuisine (Boston baked beans for example), they can also be used in soups, stews and most other recipes which call for a bean type. Like most beans, they are available dried and tinned.
Pinto beans - also known as cowboy beans - have a unique mottled skin (pinto in Spanish means "painted") and are commonly used as a filling for burritos and served alongside rice or mashed into refried beans. You can also use them in place of kidney beans in chilli recipes. You can buy these types of beans in most health food shops and some supermarkets in either dried or tinned form.
Soya beans have a chewy nutlike taste and are amazingly versatile. These types of beans are made into many different foods such as soya milk, soya cheese, soya yoghurts and soya cream. A popular bean type choice for vegetarians and vegans, soya beans are also a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids. Soya beans can be bought either dried or tinned and can be added to soups and stews like other beans.
Tepary beans - also known as Pawi, Pavi, Tepari, Escomite, Yori mui and Yori muni - have a deep earthy taste and are a staple of Native Americans in the Southwest. These beans take longer to cook than the average bean types but you can use them like other beans in various recipes. Rarely found in tins, tepary beans can be found in some health food shops but are not as available as other types of beans.
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