Black beans in our country are found on the tables of connoisseurs of Latin American cuisine. The beans can be dark burgundy like the Kindy variety or almost black like the Preto variety. Of the known varieties of the product, the benefits and harms of black beans are enhanced due to the greater concentration of the ingredients included in the grain. These beans are distinguished by a sweetish taste and dense structure. A distinctive feature of black grains is a distinct smoked taste.
Description and characteristics
The countries of South and Latin America are the birthplace of all types of beans. The crop was also grown in Ancient Egypt and China. Much later it was brought to Europe and Russia. Black beans are now often used in cooking in countries such as Mexico and Brazil. It differs from other varieties in its increased nutritional value and beneficial properties.
The dark shade is characteristic of the pods and the beans themselves. This can be seen in the presented photos. Their size is determined by the variety and growing conditions. There are varieties of black beans with the largest grains.
The beans have a dense structure and are colored silky black. They taste slightly sweet. A distinctive feature of black beans is their smoky flavor. In cooking, black beans are used as an additive to fish and meat dishes, added to soups, and served with baked or fried vegetables.
Selection rules
When purchasing the Black Eye variety as seed for subsequent cultivation, the condition of the beans is assessed according to the following rules:
- The beans must be the same size so that all plants germinate and emerge at the same time.
- The skin on the grains must be intact, without damage or cracks.
- The skin color should be white, with a glossy sheen and a characteristic black spot on the side.
- The grains chosen are smooth, without foreign growths and dirty spots.
- The beans should be dry to the touch.
It is also important to pay attention to the packaging time of the beans. The grains remain viable for 16 to 18 months.
The health benefits and harms of black beans
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Compared to other varieties of beans, black beans have increased nutritional value. The calorie content of dark-colored grains is 314 kcal per 100 g of product. This is almost 60 kcal more than red varieties. The main nutrients in dark beans are contained in the following ratio:
- 25.3% proteins;
- 1.66% fat;
- 73.04% carbohydrates.
In addition to them, beans contain a large amount of dietary fiber. Eating 140 grams of black beans per day satisfies the body's need for fiber. Black beans contain 23 essential microelements for humans. Among them are zinc, phosphorus, iron, potassium and magnesium.
Important!
The composition of this bean contains metals belonging to the heavy group. Therefore, before consumption, grains are boiled for a long time to remove toxic substances. Heat treatment reduces calorie content by 3 times, but the content of nutrients is also greatly reduced.
Dark beans contain amino acids that improve health and increase life expectancy. They promote tissue renewal, support protein-carbohydrate metabolic reactions, and prevent the development of oncology.
Dark beans contain many beneficial components that affect the entire body. As a result of regular use of this product, the following processes occur:
- Potassium reduces swelling, helps strengthen vascular walls, and reduces the load on the heart muscle.
- B vitamins are useful for maintaining beauty and youth. They improve skin tone, rid the body of toxins, heal the skin and nail plates, and strengthen the nervous system.
- Beans remove toxins from the body, cleanse blood vessels of harmful cholesterol, and prevent the formation of kidney stones.
- Regulates the process of blood clotting.
- Improves brain activity, slows down the aging of the body.
- Helps you lose weight.
Before consuming black beans, people with health problems should consult their doctor. This product, for all its benefits, can harm the body. The product is very high in calories and is difficult to digest. Therefore, if you have a peptic ulcer, gout, high acidity of the stomach or intestinal colic, it should be avoided. When eating black beans, you need to drink plenty of water. Liquid makes it easier to digest a high-fiber product.
How to Harvest and Store Black Beans
Perhaps the only serious drawback of this crop is the difficulty in their further culinary processing: dried seeds have to be soaked for a long time before cooking (12-16 hours), because During the drying process, the skins of the beans become very hard.
- How to Collect and Store Pea, Bean and Legume Seeds
Legumes contain many useful substances and also enrich the soil with nitrogen. If they are growing in your garden, then it's time to think about collecting seeds.
Black bean varieties
Thanks to breeding work, many varieties of beans with a dark color have been developed. Such beans can be grain or asparagus. The first species uses only grains for food. The second differs in that the entire pod can be consumed until it reaches full maturity.
Preto beans
The variety is the most widespread in the world. It is grown commercially in China and the USA. The plant forms a low bush. The grains of this variety have a regular round shape, are painted in a glossy black color, and have a white scar on the side. The pulp of the Preto variety is creamy in color. The peculiarity of this variety is the light aroma of berries, a sweetish taste with a bitterness that gives it a piquancy. After boiling, the grains retain their dark color.
Black Opal Beans
This variety belongs to the early ripening varieties. It forms a medium-sized bush with medium-sized and slightly wrinkled leaves and purple flowers. After ripening, long, rounded, slightly curved, salad-colored pods are formed. They do not have a parchment layer and hard fibers. Therefore, they can be used entirely in cooking. Oval beans are black in color with barely noticeable veins. The variety has excellent taste.
A little history
The first mentions of beans can be found in Chinese sources dating back to the 2nd century BC. e. In South America, this plant was cultivated by the ancient Aztecs and Incas. During excavations of their settlements, fossilized bean grains are found. Traveler Bernardino de Sahagún talks about its great diversity after visiting the lands discovered by Columbus. In his book General History of the Affairs of New Spain, published in the 16th century, he describes 11 types of beans that were known and grown by local Indian tribes.
Initially, this plant, which was brought from the New World, was a decoration for gardens. Only almost two centuries later it began to be used as a vegetable crop. Since the 18th century, hearty bean dishes have become popular among common people. And the nobility preferred delicious treats made from pods with grains of milky ripeness. But, when ripe, the leaves become covered with a parchment layer and become unsuitable for food. The desire to improve the properties of plants became the reason for the development of varieties whose pods do not become coarser.
Nowadays beans are divided into two types: American and Asian. They differ in grain size. In addition, all vegetable varieties can be divided into two groups: capsicum and asparagus. The second is a variety of the first, but differs in that it can also be used as food fresh.
Green beans are varied in shape, size, color of pods and grains. It contains protein, which is similar in composition to animal protein. Its digestibility is very high - almost 75%. In addition, it contains many microelements, more than 20 amino acids and vitamins. The high potassium content allows you to include bean dishes in the diet for heart disease. The bean leaves are used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce drugs that lower blood sugar levels in diabetics. And also in folk medicine, where their decoctions are used for kidney diseases, hypertension and disorders of the body’s salt balance.
There are varieties of beans that smell like mushrooms - Ad Rem and Akito.
Photo gallery: vegetable beans in all their variety
Use in folk medicine
Decoctions and infusions are made from bean leaves according to traditional medicine recipes, which have a therapeutic effect and normalize blood glucose levels. They contain high-quality proteins, which, when entering the human body, take part in the synthesis of insulin.
On a note!
Infusions of black beans relieve inflammation and relieve attacks of rheumatism. They have a diuretic effect, flush the kidneys, and normalize blood pressure.
Women who are breastfeeding are advised to avoid eating legumes. This product causes gas and colic in the baby. But due to their nutritional content, black beans are good for increasing your milk supply. With proper introduction of this product into the diet of a young mother, it is possible to avoid negative effects on the child and enrich the menu with a healthy product.
In cosmetology, black beans are used to prepare anti-aging masks. The grains are boiled until tender and blended with a blender. Then a little lemon juice and butter are added to the puree mass. The resulting mass is distributed over the face for 15 minutes.
Preparing the infusion
This remedy is useful for overall health promotion. It is taken three times a day, half an hour before meals, 1/3 cup.
Ingredients:
- 50 g black beans;
- 400 ml water.
How to cook:
Black bean grains are turned into powder using a coffee grinder. Then boil the water. The powder is poured into a thermos, and boiling water is poured into it. Leave for 12 hours. Before drinking, the drink is filtered through cheesecloth.
Choosing a site for planting beans
Black beans are planted in the same order as other varieties of this crop. An open area is chosen for it in a country house or garden. This crop cannot be planted in places shaded by buildings or tall trees.
Important!
Beans love plenty of sunlight. Due to lack of lighting, it stretches out and the yield is greatly reduced.
This crop can be grown on any soil except clay. But the harvest will be better on loose and well-drained soil. If the land on the site is fertile, there will be more ovaries. It is better not to choose areas with close groundwater for planting beans. On such soil, the root system of the plant will quickly begin to rot. Therefore, it is more convenient to grow this crop on a hill.
When it is not possible to choose an open and high-lying area, the problem of close groundwater is solved in another way. A high bed is made under the beans, which improves the heating of the root system and simplifies the care of the plants. The disadvantage of this method of growing is the high cost of materials for the garden bed.
The soil is prepared in the fall, the area is dug up to a depth of 25 cm. At the same time, well-rotted manure or ready-made compost is added to improve the structure and fertility. Fresh manure or bird droppings are not used as fertilizer for legumes. It contains a lot of nitrogen, which is unnecessary for this crop. Beans independently extract this element from the soil and accumulate it in the soil. Additionally, mineral complexes or 30 g of potassium sulfate and 40 g of superphosphate are used for every 1 square meter. m. landing.
Preparations continue in the spring. Additionally, they dig up the bed, adding 10 g of ammonium nitrate for every 1 square meter. m. landing. But if compost or manure was added in the fall, ammonium nitrate is not needed. The surface of the bed is leveled with a rake.
When arranging a place for beans, take into account the recommendations and rules for crop rotation. Beans will feel better if radishes, cabbage, radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and onions grew in front of them in this place. After peas, soybeans or peanuts, beans can be planted on a plot only after 3 years.
Growing and care
When choosing beans for eating or planting, give preference to those packaged in transparent containers (the contents are clearly visible). Do not buy beans that have visible signs of damage, stains, mold, etc. Quality cowpeas are rich white in color with a slightly wrinkled skin. It is also important to check the expiration date; the beans remain viable throughout the year. Before planting, the seeds should be soaked (for 20 minutes). There is no need to wait for the seedlings; the seedlings will hatch very quickly anyway. Beans are planted in one place no more than once every 3 years.
In order for the plant to produce a good harvest in the middle zone, as well as in the northern regions, seedlings need to be prepared. The seedlings are transferred outside when the weather is consistently warm and the soil warms up to 15–17˚C (to a depth of 10 cm). In the southern regions, beans will fully ripen when seeds are planted in the ground in the spring. A couple of months before planting or in the fall, the site is dug up and a bucket of compost is added per 1 m² of land. The planting pattern for beans or young bushes is 70x80, the depth of the holes is about 10 cm.
Immediately after planting, the beds are moistened, but not too much; cowpeas at all stages of growth cannot tolerate either overdried or waterlogged soil. It is more convenient to grow the plant on supports; you can drive in pegs, stretch a large net (like for cucumbers) or ropes over them. Cowpea does not tolerate proximity to weeds; any grasses must be removed when they are still small. Loosening is carried out after each watering and rain. When the first buds appear, the plantings are fertilized with potassium-phosphorus mixtures according to the instructions. In the fall, you can cut off the green mass and leave the roots in the soil, they will serve as fertilizer.
How to sow seeds
Beans are heat-loving plants. Almost all varieties of this crop cannot withstand temperatures dropping to -2 degrees and die. Soil temperature is also important. For successful seed germination it must be above +10 degrees. Otherwise, the seeds simply rot in the ground.
The time for sowing bean seeds coincides with the time of planting cucumbers, when the soil is already well heated. Depending on the climate, the planting time is at the end of April or the beginning of May. In areas where chestnuts grow, you can navigate by them. If the trees have bloomed, it's time to sow beans.
The seeds are sorted before sowing. All damaged, wrinkled and small ones are thrown away. The remaining seed material is soaked overnight in warm water for germination. In the morning, the grains are removed and dried. This procedure speeds up seed germination.
Technology for sowing bean seeds:
- In a bed prepared in advance, furrows are made for planting seeds with a depth of 6 cm. 40-50 cm are left between the rows.
- The furrows are shed with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect them from harmful microorganisms.
- The seeds are placed in furrows at a distance of 20-25 cm. If after germination the planting turns out to be too dense, the excess plants are removed.
- Cover the grains with soil, compact and level with the back of the rake.
- The bed is covered with any covering material to protect it from possible frost.
Plant care
You can grow black beans even with minimal gardening experience. Care consists of regular irrigation, removing weeds, loosening the soil and timely harvesting. When the hatched seedlings reach a length of 10 cm, they must be spudded. For climbing varieties, supports are installed, to which the vines are then tied. Pegs can also be installed for bush beans, but this is not a mandatory procedure.
Plants are watered regularly and abundantly. The next day, the soil is loosened shallowly to prevent the formation of a dense crust on the ground and improve root aeration. The frequency of irrigation is determined by the condition of the soil and weather conditions. If the summer is hot and dry, water the plants more often. Irrigation is performed in the morning or evening, when there is no active sun.
Important!
2 weeks after the first hilling, the procedure is repeated. It is carried out again before the bushes planted nearby close. During hilling, weeding is carried out at the same time and the rows are cleared of weeds.
If manure or compost was not used during the preparation of the bed, then before planting the buds, the beans are fertilized with ammonium nitrate. Granules are scattered between the rows, for every 1 sq. m. you will need 10 g of fertilizer. Then the soil is lightly dug up and watered with warm water.
10 days after the formation of the ovaries, they begin to collect the fruits. If a grain harvest is needed, then they wait until most of the blades are fully ripe and pick them all at one time. After the pods dry, the beans are shelled and stored.
Harvest storage
The collected beans are stored in hermetically sealed containers in a dry place. You can use glass jars or bags made of natural fabric for this purpose. If there are a lot of grains, they are placed in wooden boxes lined with old newspapers on the inside. Printing ink will repel bugs that love to eat beans and use them to lay eggs.
In this state, the crop can be stored for up to 1 year. If you lower the temperature, the shelf life increases. You can further improve the safety of beans by preheating the beans in the oven at +60 degrees for half an hour. This treatment makes it impossible to use beans as planting material. To preserve the germination of seeds, it is recommended to freeze the grains for several days in the freezer.
Reviews
Anna, 38 years old:
Among the climbing varieties of black beans, I liked the Mavritanka variety the most. It has powerful and hardy bushes. But you need to carefully monitor the ripening of the crop. If you miss the harvest time, the beans become hard and tasteless.
Arina, 35 years old:
I often grow the Kidney variety in the garden. A wonderful, problem-free plant. Bushes grow on any soil. They can be grown as green manure. After these beans there are no weeds left at all.
Black beans are a healthy plant. It is easy to grow for the beginning gardener with minimal care. The plant delights with delicious fruits and is an excellent decoration for a summer cottage.
When and How to Harvest Black Beans
If you planted this crop exclusively as green manure and are not interested in a rich harvest or long-term storage, then milk-ripe beans can also be consumed raw. If you can clearly identify the “bean” through the skin of the pod, then its fruit is ready to eat.
Like other members of their family, beans ripen unevenly: the pods located at the very bottom do so first. The higher the pod, the later it will ripen.
If you decide to grow beans for storage, then you will have to wait until the pod flaps dry out and darken.
Dark, dried pods are the main sign that the beans are ready for long-term storage. Rasbak Photos
