SC - Fava beans?? (and thanks)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Jessica Tiffin wrote:
> 
> help!
> 
> Please, can one of you American cooks give me an alternative name for fava
> beans?  They ain't known in South Africa under that name.  What do the
> darned things look like?  White?  Brown?  Approximate shape?  All the stuff
> I have on period beans tells me that favas are the most period variety,
> which isn't helping much... :>

Hmmm. You might look for them under the name "broad bean", which, I
gather, is sometimes used in connection with favas, although it's also
used in connection with some New World beans too. "French beans" also is
sometimes used to describe immature favas in some translations of
Apician recipes, but, again, also is used in connection with New World
varieties. But then, of course, most of the world doesn't speak of
everything in its capacity of usefulness in historical recreation, and
doesn't give a hoot about such distinctions.

The dried favas in the markets have been shelled, but tend to be your
usual vaguely kidney-shaped, slightly flattish bean with a slightly
reddish, lentil colored skin when raw, which turns sort of mud brown
when cooked. They will likely be 3/4 to 1 inch (2 to 2 1/2 cm) long, and
perhaps 1/2 inch (1 cm) wide, and the biggest difference between favas
and any other bean I know is their leathery skin: I'm not talking about
the shell or pod, mind you, but the actual skin on each bean, which is
paper-thin (and soft when cooked) on the New World varieties. Unless you
find split favas in a Middle Eastern or other suitable market, the beans
may have to be peeled by hand, unless soaked for a long time before
cooking, almost to the point where they begin to germinate. This will
cause them to burst out of their skins somewhat, and make the whole
process a bit easier.

Fresh favas tend to show up in markets in the pod, which is pale green
and somewhat leathery, looking more or less like a mimosa pod, only much
thicker and slightly waxy. 

Not sure what else I can say...cooked fava beans have a texture like
cooked chestnuts, and something of their flavor and color, as well, but
without the sweetness.

You might get some via mail-order or something. The best place to look
locally, if you have access to such, would be a market selling
Mediterranean (i.e. Southern European or Middle Eastern, but
Mediterranean is the new maddeningly vague term usually employed)
groceries. 

> I realise with horror that I never posted to say thanks to Ras and
> Adamantius (the usual suspects!) for their posts  on fine-ground versus
> coarse-ground black pepper - clarified things very nicely, thank you very
> much!  (Rudeness was due to madly finishing a friend's wedding dress while
> organising my life around a minor arm operation - I've just caught up 8
> digests...)

Um, I blushingly confess I hadn't noticed any rudeness. I tend to deal
with mail messages a couple of hundred at a time, so time perception
when dealing with it can become somewhat warped. My pleasure in any
case. Please don't worry on my account, at any rate.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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