CHAPTER XII.
LEGUMES.
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Pro- Carbohy- Calories
Water tein Fat drates Ash per lb.
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Fresh Legumes:
String beans ……… 89.2 2.3 0.3 7.4 0.8 195
Shelled limas …….. 68.5 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 570
Shelled peas ……… 74.6 7.0 0.5 16.9 1.0 465
Dried Legumes:
Lima beans ……….. 10.4 18.1 1.5 65.9 4.1 1625
Navy beans ……….. 12.6 22.5 1.8 59.6 3.5 1605
Lentils ………….. 8.4 25.7 1.0 59.2 5.7 1620
Dried peas ……….. 9.5 24.6 1.0 62.0 2.9 1655
Soy beans ………… 10.8 34.0 16.8 33.7 4.7 1970
Peanuts ………….. 9.2 25.8 38.6 24.4 2.0 2560
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Analyses of all foods are approximate. The food value varies with the conditions under which the foods are grown and is not always even approximately the same.
The fresh young legumes may be classed with the succulent vegetables. The matured, dried legumes are to be classed both as starchy and proteid foods. They are very easily raised and consequently cheap. They are the cheapest source of protein that we have. Peas and beans are very important foods in Europe. In this country we consume enormous quantities of beans. In Mexico they use a great deal of frijoles, the poor people having this bean at nearly every meal. In China they make the soy beans into various dishes. The lentil is much used in Europe and is gaining favor here, as it should, for it is splendid food, with a flavor of its own. Peanuts, which are really not nuts, but leguminous plants growing their seeds under the ground, are used extensively as food for man and beast.
These foods are much alike in composition, the soy bean being exceptionally rich in protein.
These foods have the undeserved reputation of being indigestible and of producing flatulence. They are a little more difficult to digest than some other foods, but they cause no trouble if they are taken in simple combinations and in moderation, provided they have been properly prepared.
It is necessary to masticate these foods very well, and avoid overeating. They are generally so soft that they are swallowed without proper mouth preparation. The result is that too much is taken of these rich foods, after which there is indigestion accompanied by gas production.
One rather peculiar food belonging to the legumes is the locust bean or St. John's bread, which we can sometimes obtain at the candy stores. It grows near the Mediterranean and is used in places for cattle feed. It is so sweet that it is eaten as a confection. Its name is due to the fact that they say St. John lived on this bean and wild honey. If he did he must have had a sweet tooth. Others say that the saint really devoured grasshoppers. It is not easy to decide, but I prefer to believe that he was a vegetarian.