A food consumed throughout the world and a staple of the Mediterranean diet, lentils and chickpeas, among other seeds, are part of the long list of legumes present in the traditional recipes of many cultures, such as Arabic falafel, Indian dahl or the incomparable Spanish stews.
Tender, dried, preserved, or frozen, from a nutritional point of view it is more advisable to consume them tender, but from a culinary and palatable point of view, the most commonly used are the dried ones due to the versatility that their preparation allows.
However, even though they are essential food for health, the consumption of legumes has fallen in almost all countries and the custom of cooking them has been lost, partly because work barely leaves time to get into the kitchen, so experts are urging them to recover their presence on the plate.
A “SUPERFOOD” IN OUR DIET.
As the main source of plant-based protein, it is recommended to consume legumes at least three times a week, according to the scientific community, which claims that their high nutrient content makes them ideal for vegetarians and vegans.
In addition, these products are rich in proteins, micronutrients, amino acids, and vitamins, while being low in fat, which helps control cholesterol and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, or cancer.
Another beneficial factor of these small seeds is that they do not contain gluten in their natural state, which makes them an ideal option for celiacs, which together with the feeling of satiety they provide, makes them perfect allies for weight control, as long as they are not cooked with fatty ingredients.
In addition to their nutritional and health potential, they are affordable and easy to store without losing their properties, and can therefore help diversify diets, especially in developing countries.
In terms of the environment, their production has a much lower impact than that caused by the production of foods of animal origin. The cultivation of legumes helps to fix nitrogen in the soil and therefore farmers do not depend as much on chemical fertilizers, reducing their carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, its consumption also represents a sustainability advantage.
COMPANIONS OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
Inseparable companions of human evolution, they were already one of the basic foods of the population in the Neolithic, ever since man began to plow the land and practice agriculture as a complement to hunting.
In Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia, and America they were cultivated regularly, although some historians speak of an antiquity of more than 20 thousand years ago.
The Egyptians cultivated and revered legumes such as lentils, a tradition that was later appreciated by other cultures such as the Romans, who considered them a symbol of prosperity.
Another type of legume, beans, cultivated by pre-Columbian civilizations, especially in Mexico and Peru, since 8,000 years before Christ, was not only used as food but also as currency.
Although researchers cannot agree, it seems that these seeds arrived in Europe after the Discovery and soon became an inseparable part of the so-called Mediterranean diet, as well as helping to deal with epidemics and world wars with enormous efficiency in times of famine.
In Spain, from the Middle Ages to the present day, legumes have been part of the meals of households, whether they are the most affluent or the most popular. Dishes such as stew, in all its forms, potages, or lentils are part of traditional culinary culture and occupy hundreds of thousands of pages in Spanish literature.
Benito Pérez Galdós, nicknamed “El garbanzo” by his friend Valle Inclán, fed the protagonists of some of his works, such as “Episodios Nacionales” or “Fortunata y Jacinta”, with hearty and tasty stews made with this legume.
The importance of legumes has also been shown in popular sayings and proverbs, which have been passed down uninterruptedly over the centuries. Thus, the proverbs state “If you have bread and lentils, what are you complaining about?”, “Beans enter the stomach singing and come out moaning and crying”, or “God gives beans to those who have no jaws.”