| Beans are the seeds of plants native to Central and South America. Bean refers to both the edible pod and its seeds. After the pod has matured and is no longer edible, it is shelled and the seeds are referred to as legumes. Legumes are available fresh or dried and are always cooked. |
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| Adzuki: |
Small, dark red, Japanese, sweet, delicate texture. Serve with rice in Asian dishes. |
| Alfalfa: |
Spiral pods that contain 6 to 8 tiny brown or yellow oval seeds. Most frequently available sprouted. Use raw in salads, sandwiches, and cooked in soups, omelets, and stews. |
| Black: |
Also called turtle beans. Medium, black skinned, earthy flavor, soft texture. Use in Hispanic dishes and salads. |
| Black-eyed peas: |
Medium, white with black spot, vegetable flavor, mealy texture. Serve with rice, greens, pork, and in salads. |
| Broad: |
Also known as fava beans. Large, flat, strong flavor, firm. Peel bitter skins after soaking. Serve pureed. |
| Cannellini: |
Also called white kidney beans. Large, kidney-shaped, bland, soft with tough skin. Use in stews. |
| Chick-peas: |
Also known as garbanzo beans. Large, round, tan, nutty flavor, crunchy texture. Use in soups, stews, salads, and pureed for dips. |
| Cranberry bean: |
Large, round, white with brown or pink. Low starch content. Popular in Europe. Use in stews and cassoulet. |
| Fava: |
Also known as broad beans. Large, flat, strong flavor, firm. Peel bitter skins after soaking. Serve pureed. |
| Flageolet: |
Pale green, tiny, tender, kidney-shaped. Lower starch content. Popular in France. A classic accompaniment to lamb. |
| Garbanzo: |
Also known as chick-peas. Large, round, tan, nutty flavor, crunchy texture. Use in soups, stews, salads, and pureed for dips. |
| Great Northern: |
Medium, white, kidney shaped, delicate flavor, firm. Use in stews, cassoulets, and salads. |
| Kidney (red or white): |
White also known as cannellini beans. Large, kidney-shaped, bland, soft with tough skin. Use in stews and chili. |
| Lentils: |
Small, flat, round, green, brown, or pink, mild, firm. Use in soups and stews. |
| Lima: |
Flat, white with green, oval, soft, mushy texture. Use in soups and stews. |
| Lupine: |
Small, pale-yellow seeds. Need extensive preparation to remove bitter flavor. Popular in Italy, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. Serve plain with lemon juice as an appetizer or snack. Used as an all-purpose flour and as a coffee substitute. |
| Mung: |
Long, thin pods that contain 10 to 20 tiny green seeds. Most frequently available sprouted. Use sprouts in chop suey, salads, and other Asian dishes. Mung flour is used in China to make noodles. |
| Navy: |
Also known as white beans. Small, white, oval. Use in soups and stews, such as Boston baked beans. |
| Pea: |
There are over 1,000 varieties of peas, including smooth, wrinkled, snow peas, and sugar snap. Smooth peas are used for freezing, wrinkled peas have higher starch and are used for canning, snow peas and sugar snap have edible pods. Snow peas and young fresh peas can be eaten raw, but are sweeter when cooked. Use as a side dish and in soups and salads. |
| Peanut: |
The nuts/seeds have papery brown skin and are in a tan pod. High in fat. Use for snacks, cooking, peanut butter, and peanut oil. |
| Pinto: |
Medium, beige and brown, earthy flavor, mealy. Serve as refried beans, use in stews and dips. |
| Red: |
Medium, dark red, similar to kidney beans in taste and texture. Serve with rice, use in soups and stews. |
| Roman: |
Kidney-shaped, brown, similar to the pinto bean. Popular in Italy. Use in place of the pinto bean or the red kidney bean. |
| Scarlet runner: |
White with red spots or red with black spots. Popular in England and Central America. Pods can be served like green beans. Mature seeds are eaten fresh or dried and prepared like red kidney beans. |
| Soybeans: |
Medium, white, firm and bland. Soya milk can be extracted to make tofu. Use fresh or dried in soups and stews, as soy flour, oil, a coffee substitute, texturized protein substitute for meat, and fermented for soy sauce |
| Split peas: |
Small, halved peas, green or yellow, earthy flavor, mealy. Use in soups. |
| Turtle: |
Also called black beans. Medium, black skinned, earthy flavor, soft texture. Use in Hispanic dishes and salads. |
| White: |
Also known as navy beans. Small, white, oval. Use in soups and stews, such as Boston baked beans. |
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