STARCHES

cover a wide range of

ingredients that are
accompaniments and main
courses
LEGUMES
Legume is a plant that bears seed pods
that split along two opposite sides when
ripe.
Pulses is a dry seed of legumes
Nutrients: Excellent source of complex
carbohydrates, protein, and soluble fiber.
Beans
Peas
Lentils
and a number of other plants.
Types
Other Legumes
 Lima beans, also called butter beans, are flat, broad beans ranging from creamy white to pale pastel green in
color, in a range of sizes from large to small.
 Chickpeas, also called garbanzos or, in Italian, ceci (chay chee), are round, hard, yellow-brown beans about
twice the size of peas and best known as the main ingredient in hummus
 Fava beans are broad, flat beans, the matured dried form of the vegetable, the brilliant green of the
immature vegetable turns a creamy brown color when the bean is dried. The skin of the dried fava is tough
and the texture is starchy.
 Soybeans are one of the world’s most important bean crops because of their high protein content as well as
their rich oil content. Fresh soybeans are used as a vegetable, dried soybeans are very hard and require a long
cooking time, but they are not often cooked and eaten directly. Rather, they are used to make a variety of
other foods,
 soy sauce
 soybean paste
 miso
 tofu or bean curd
 Mung beans are small, round beans with a dark green skin and white interior. They are often sprouted to
make the bean sprouts widely used in Chinese cooking. As dried legumes, they are available whole or hulled
and split. The split form has a much shorter cooking time. Split mung beans break apart when cooked to
make a purée mung beans belong to the same family as pigeon peas and black-eyed peas.
 Adzuki beans are small, oval beans with a thick red skin. They are used primarily in Asian cooking in sweet as
well as savory dishes.
 Dal, or dhal, is the generic term in India for dried legume. Legumes used in Indian cuisine include moong dal
(mung bean),masoor dal (red lentil),urad dal (a tiny,white split lentil),and chana (chickpea).
Quality Characteristics of Legumes
o Should be brightly-colored and
uniformly sized.
o Should not be marked, shriveled,
damaged, or broken.
Storing legumes
o Store in a cool, dark, dry place with good
ventilation.
o Keep opened packages in air-tight,
moisture-proof containers.
Culinary Essentials
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill,
a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Checking & Soaking Legumes
o Remove any shriveled and
discolored legumes, stems,
and pebbles.
o Rinse legumes in cold water
until water is clear.
o Soak legumes according to
directions, removing floaters.
Cooking Legumes
o Soak legumes overnight in three
times their volume of water in the
refrigerator. Or soak legumes for 1
hour in 212ºF water.
o Bring the legumes and cooking liquid
to a simmer. Cooking times range
from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
o Test for doneness.