SC - green beans

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 97-11-19 04:09:26 EST, you write:

<<  why would you say green beans were one of the items quickly
 and extensively used after discovery? >>

First, I would refer you to the posts from this list a while back when we
were having the great bean debate. ;-)

Secondly, we have a date, according to Toussaint-Samat of 1528, when seeds
were given to Canon Piero Valeriano by Pope Clement VII, who recieved tas a
gift from the New World.

The Canon planted the beans in pots and carefully noted germination rates,
growth patterns, etc. He commented speciffically on how productive they were.
Some of the resulting crop was used to prepare a dish which usually used
favas. The result was pronounced delicious and the beans were called fagioli.
The use of these beans swept throughout N. Italy,

At this time the Canon persuaded Catherine de Medici to include a bag of bean
seed in her dowry. The bean was loved by all and due to it's productivity was
only a fleeting "exotic" soon being gron all over Provence and other regions
where it ultimately (My Note: probably within 10 years) was known as "poor
man's food". Quote: "It's reputation as a cheap stomach filler guanteed its
popularity". 

IMHO, other sources and conjecture from eating habits support the supposition
supports the idea that green beans as opposed to dried beans per se were
eaten rather extensively because a handful of green beans is one serving.
Those same beans shelled as dry would amount to a mere taste. As  researchers
into food history we , as moderns, must be ever vigilant to remember that
until recently in history man's society was agricultural. Thusly, the quick
dispersal of a food product that was prolific and good for eating in several
stages of growth would have been , and indeed was, quickly accomplished.

Ras 
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