Sunday, December 21, 2008

No.33: Lima Beans

Note: This week's Lima Beans has also been requested by Sam's Mistress & J

Favored for their lovely nutty taste, lima beans make a great addition to any meal!

1. During the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, lima beans were exported to the rest of the Americas and Europe, since the boxes of such goods had their place of origin labeled "Lima - Peru", the beans got named as such.

2. Raw lima beans are not to be consumed raw! They contain linamarin (also called cyanogen), which releases a cyanide compound when the seed coat is opened. Don’t worry, cooking deactivates this compound.

3. The United States sets regulations to restrict commercially grown lima beans to those varieties with very low levels of this linamarin, but lima beans grown elsewhere,
may have 20 to 30 times the concentration allowed in the United States.


4. Before the late 19th century, most beans were raised for shelled, dried beans, not fresh green beans. Because beans dry so well, they are easy to transport and store.

5. Soak dried limas for six hours and cook on the stove uncovered for about one hour, or until tender. 1 cup of dried limas makes approximately 2 1/2 cups of cooked beans.

Reference: Food Reference, Wikipedia

4 comments:

Christine said...

Wow! Our J LOVES limas, and he thinks your blogs are very well done and tres cute! Thanks so much for both postings, and Merry Christmas!!!!

Cheers! XO
Christine

Yam said...

I just found this site and I love it! Have you considered featuring bittermelon? It's my favorite vegetable and I'm sure it would be fun to illustrate. Thanks for what you do! It makes my day! :)

Anonymous said...

Please consider jicama and kohlrabi! They are sweet and round and oh so cute!

BracLynn said...

Sam's Mistress & J> Glad you both love them! :D

Joana> Thank you for your encouragement! ^-^ Your comments make my day too! Hm... bittermelon.. wink*

Anonymous> Sweet, round and cute...interesting!! Thanks for introducing jicama to me, that's definitely something new! Time to do a little research then! :D