PULSES

What are the pulses?

People have eaten and enjoyed pulses since ancient times. It an excellent basic food for developing the taste of spices and aromatic herbs. They are an important part of world food and they play an important role in the nutrition of consumers around the world.

Beans are part of the daily culinary routine of the people of our planet and they have contributed substantially to the development of humankind. The gastronomic use of the so-called “magic beans” is extensive and the culinary creativity around them has no end. There are families who have their own type of beans and they are very proud of them. Pulses have been part of all regional gastronomies and they are a common part of understanding between the different cultures and religions of our world. They bring unquestionable practical benefit to nutrition and human diet that every nation appreciates and thus has included them in its culture of gastronomy.

The word “pulses” comes from the Latin word puls meaning “thick soup” or “potage”. Pulses belong to the Fabaceae or Leguminoceae family. The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and economically important family of flowering plants. They are easily recognized by their fruit and their compound leaves. Dry pulses are known today as the dried seeds of these leguminous plants that produce a number of beans with different sizes, shapes and colours. The family is widely spread, and is the third-largest land plant family in terms of number of species with about 700 genera and some 20,000 known species. It is also noted that there are many ecotypes developed. Ecotypes are local varieties of pulses that have been developed locally due to particular and special local conditions existing in a specific region. Pulses are the second most important food source in the world after cereal grains.

The terms “legumes” and “pulses” are used interchangeably; however, all pulses are considered legumes, but not all legumes are considered pulses. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), defines pulses as “dry seeds of leguminous plants which are distinguished from leguminous oil seeds by their low fat content”.

Concerning the taste of pulses, their high content of proteins and fibres provides them with special function properties in cooking and processing, as well as makes them an excellent base for the development of the taste of spices and aromatic herbs. Lentils are most commonly used in soups, stews, curries and bakes, and are available canned and dried.

The lentils group 

Small brown lentils

Large brown lentils

Black lentils Beluga

Yellow Lentils

Red lentils (orange)

Green lentils

The group of beans

 Pinto beans

Borlotti beans

 Adzuki beans

Black beans

Red kidney beans

 Butter beans

Moth beans

 Cannellini beans

Gigantes beans or runner beans

Urad beans

 Mung beans

 Ricebeans

Fageolet beans

Lima Christmas beans

Chickpeas or Faba beans 

Brown chickpeas

White chickpeas

White chickpeas kabuli

Peas

Green peas

 Fava peas peavine or vetchling

 Peas marrowfat

Pigeon peas

Broad beans 

Broad beans or koukia

Lupins

Lupins

Cowpeas

 Cowpeas

Blackeye peas or mavromatika (subspecies of cowpea)