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PULSES.TXT
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1995-03-13
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VegSocUK Information Sheet
THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY
___________________________________
PULSES
Peas, beans and lentils are known as pulses. They are the seeds of plants
belonging to the family Leguminosae, which gets its name from the
characteristic pod or legume that protects the seeds while they are forming
and ripening. With approximately 13,000 species, the family Leguminosae is
the second largest in the plant kingdom and it is very important
economically. Different kinds of legumes provide us with food, medicines,
oils, chemicals, timber, dyes and ornamental garden plants. Legume products
include carob, senna, gum arabic, balsam, indigo and licorice. Pulses are
valuable because they contain a higher percentage of protein than most other
plant foods.
ORIGINS
Pulses have been used as food for thousands of years. The lentil was probably
one of the first plants ever to be domesticated by humans. Most pulses prefer
warm climates but there are varieties which grow in temperate regions. They
can be eaten fresh or dried and come in a great number of varieties with a
range of colours, flavours, and textures. Inspite of its common name, the
peanut or groundnut is also a legume rather than a nut.
NUTRITION
All pulses, except for soya beans, are very similar in nutritional content.
They are rich in protein, carbohydrate and fibre, and low in fat which is
mostly of the unsaturated kind. They are also important sources of some B
vitamins. Fresh pulses contain vitamin C, but this declines after harvesting
and virtually all is lost from dried pulses. Canned pulses however, retain
about half their vitamin C except for canned, processed peas which have been
dried before canning. Canning doesn't affect the protein content, eliminates
the need for soaking and considerably reduces the cooking time compared with
dried pulses. Frozen peas will have also lost about a quarter of their
vitamin C content.
Pulses are usually eaten for their high protein content. A typical
nutritional breakdown is that for haricot beans which are used to make baked
beans, contain, per 100g dried beans 21.4g protein, 1.6g fat, 45.5g
carbohydrate, 25.4g fibre, 6.7mg iron and 180mg calcium.
The nutritional quality of the soya bean is superior to that of other pulses.
It contains more protein and is also a good source of iron and calcium. The
nutritional breakdown of soya is per 100g of dried beans 34.1g protein, 17.7g
fat, 28.6g carbohydrate, 8.4mg iron and 226mg calcium. Dried soya beans are
lengthy to prepare because they need at least 12 hours soaking and 4 hours
cooking time, boiling for the first hour, but nowadays a large number of soya
based foods including tofu, tempeh and texured vegetable protein (TVP) are
available,
STORAGE & COOKING
One advantage of dried pulses is that they will store very well for long
periods if kept in a dry, airtight container away from the light. However it
is best to eat them as fresh as possible. Pulses toughen on storage and older
ones will take longer to cook. Allow about 55g dried weight per person, once
soaked and cooked they will at least double in weight. Most dried pulses need
soaking for several hours before they can be cooked, exceptions are all
lentils, green and yellow split peas, blackeye and mung beans. Soaking times
vary from 4-12 hours, it is usually most convenient to soak pulses overnight.
Always discard the soaking water, rinse and cook in fresh water without any
salt, which toughens the skins and makes for longer cooking. Changing the
water will help to reduce the flatulence some people suffer when eating
pulses, also reputed to help is the addition of a pinch of aniseeds, caraway,
dill or fennel seeds.
TOXINS IN PULSES
Consumers should be aware that it is not safe to eat raw or undercooked
kidney and soya beans. There is no need to avoid them as long as they are
thoroughly cooked.
Red kidney beans
Incidents of food poisoning have been reported associated with the
consumption of raw or undercooked red kidney beans. Symptoms may develop
after eating only four raw beans and include nausea, vomiting and abdominal
pain followed by diarrhoea. A naturally occurring haemaglutin is responsible
for the illness, but can be destroyed by high temperature cooking, making the
beans completely safe to eat. For this reason, kidney beans must not be
sprouted. Kidney beans should be soaked for at least 8 hours in enough cold
water to keep them covered. After soaking, drain and rinse the beans,
discarding the soaking water. Put them into a pan with cold water to cover
and bring to the boil. The beans must now boil for 10 minutes to destroy the
toxin. After this the beans should be simmered until cooked (approximately
45-60 minutes) and they should have an even creamy texture throughout - if
the centre is still hard and white, they require longer cooking.
Soya beans
Contain an anti-trypsin factor (or trypsin inhibitor) which prevents the
assimilation of the amino acid methionine. Soya beans also require careful
cooking to ensure destruction of this factor. They should be soaked for at
least 12 hours, drained and rinsed then covered with fresh water and brought
to the boil. Soya beans should be boiled for the first hour of cooking. They
can then be simmered for the remaining 2-3 hours that it takes to cook them.
Soya flour should state heat treated on its packaging. Other soya products
(eg tofu, tempeh, soya milk, soya sauces and miso) are quite safe to use.
Soya beans can be sprouted, but the sprouts should be quickly blanched in
boiling water to inactivate the trypsin inhibitor.
Pressure cooking
The temperatures achieved in pressure cooking are adequate to destroy both
haemaglutins and the trypsin inhibitor. Pressure cooking also considerably
reduces cooking times - kidney beans 10-20 minutes, soya beans 1 hour.
Canning
The temperature achieved in the canning process also renders pulses quite
safe.
Slow cookers
Pulses must be soaked and boiled for 10 minutes before being added to a slow
cooker, as they do not reach sufficiently high temperatures to destroy the
toxins.
As beans and peas are all very similar nutritionally, with the exception of
soya, they can be interchanged in most recipes if you want to experiment or
have run out of one kind, as long as you take into account the different
cooking times. If the beans are likely to need a lot longer to cook than the
other ingredients, try pre-cooking them in a separate pan before adding to
the other ingredients or using canned beans.
SPROUTING
Many whole pulses (eg aduki, chickpeas, whole lentils, marrowfat peas, mung
and soya beans) can be sprouted which increases their nutritional value.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Bean Information Bureau
c/o Paragon Communications, 142 Wardour Street, London, W1V 3AU.
___________________________________
//
This article is copyright to the Vegetarian Society (UK), but may be freely
copied for non-commercial use provided it is kept intact, not altered
and these lines are included.
For futher information contact: The Vegetarian Society, Parkdale, Dunham Road,
Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 4QG, England. Tel: (England) 061 928 0793
email: vegsoc@vegsoc.demon.co.uk
//
[The text of this file was obtained from the Vegetarian Society (UK) in
March 1995.]