National Bean Day  is January 6th in the United States. To celebrate, let’s learn a bit more about this food that has been a part of history since humans have been able to record it. There are over 40,000 bean varieties, but only a small number of them are in mass production as food product. Beans are a great source of fiber and protein, and they are low in fat.

Beans are used in countless main course dishes around the world, such as chili and feijoada, but they are also used in desserts. In Japan, there are desserts, including cake, that are made with red beans. The traditional spread that we know as “English Breakfast” would be just “breakfast,” without the beans! For the vegetarians out there, even your famous meat-substitute, tofu, is made from soy beans. So, today go out and enjoy some beans, but this time, think about the history, variety and nutritional impact they have that is commonly overlooked

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or food safety and culinary training, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.