SC - Cassoulet

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Sharon L. Harrett wrote:

> Greetings all:
>         Yep, I have Gerard's... and we did discuss this a few months back, but
> anyway, here goes.
>         Gerard states that there are 9 kinds of "kidney bean" known to him (and
> quotes from other sources as well). These include some from India,
> Egypt, and Brazil, as well as those grown in earlier times in the
> Mediterranean. His illustrations resemble our lima bean far more than a
> kidney bean, being flat ovals, and the pods are flat also with a
> distinct string along the straight side. He says they come in several
> colors, white, black, red, purple, and orange. The plants and flowers
> resemble our lima bean much more than a string or shell bean, having
> narrow leaves well apart on the stalks.
>         Among the other legumes, he has lentils(2 kinds) garden peas (6 kinds)
> several edible vetches, and the "garden bean" or fava, with 3 kinds
> being known (white, yellow, and black)- the black being grown
> ornamentally only, not eaten.
>         There are no references to what we have now... string beans, although
> he says that the favas and "kidney" beans may be cooked immature, in
> their pods, and dressed with vinegar and salt as a "daintie meat"
> 
> Ceridwen

Well, that's the problem, and I don't believe we really reached any kind
of conclusion then, either.

Certainly there must have been beans of various kinds imported from
places like India and China to the Middle East, other than the chick
pea, the lentil, and the fava. The soy bean certainly was cultivated in
Asia very early in our period, and sooner. Other candidates are things
like mung beans (more or less a tiny variety of soybean) and several
varieties of chick pea that appear to have been more or less unknown to
most Europeans.

However, we don't really know that the kidney beans Gerard refers to,
are the String Bean Group from South America. Kidney bean is a perfectly
natural nomenclature based on shape, and it would be perfectly
acceptable to call even favas by that name.

As is often the case, the more you dig, the more confusing things
become...

Adamantius 
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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