SC - Long, Pointy things

[Christine A Seelye-King]

> TerryD at Health.State.OK.US writes:
> 
> << According to a footnote, the recipe is taken from Martino 
> and was entitled
>  in his work, "Per fava li piselli fritti nella fava menata." 
>  Said title
>  suggests that broad beans are meant rather than kidney beans.
>  
>  Bear >>
> 
> Agreed. This appears to be the case in these particular 
> recipes. It might 
> also suggest that by Martino's time the term kidney bean had 
> already been 
> transferred to the fava after being used in another sense. 
> The necessity of 
> an explanation regarding use of the term leads me to these 
> conclusions. 
> 
> Is there any evidence from earlier works which might suggest 
> that kidney bean 
> was used for any other form of bean before it was applied to favas?
> 
> Ras

Pliny termed kidney beans "phaseolus" and fava or broad beans as "faba".
Since the modern Italian term for kidney bean is "fagiolo" and is derived
from "phaseolus."  "Fagiolo" applies to both the cowpea and the New World
kidney beans.  Given this linguistic transfer, it is unlikely the fava bean
was ever referred to as a kidney bean.  

If Martino is not specifically referring to broad beans in this recipe
title, then it is more likely he is using "fava" as a generic term for
beans.  Looking at Platina, I believe a case can be made for generic use
from the Latin "fabacio," but actually making the case is beyond my
linguistic abilities.  

Bear