Central Bean Company

Review by Debbie Mazo

 
As healthy diets become more popular, people are rediscovering the virtues of beans as a key staple. Satisfying, nutritious, and easy to cook, beans offer endless possibilities. Visit the Central Bean Company, and you'll find out that beans are no longer just the poor man's meat.

For thousands of years, beans have played an important role in feeding the world's population. Travel to any region and you're likely to find a traditional dish featuring beans in one form or another. Traced as far back as ancient Peru, beans were likely introduced throughout the world by soldiers who carried them as they fought ancient wars. Click on History of Beans to discover the story of beans in North America, including the American Indians who cultivated beans as far south as Florida and as far north as the Red River Valley.

Dried beans are easily available in your supermarket and can enhance meals for any season. Need the basics? Then, check out Storing and Soaking Beans for the best techniques on storing, sorting, rinsing, and soaking. Here, you'll find out that dry beans should be stored at room temperature in covered containers-not in the refrigerator. For the longest storage life, keep beans in a glass or plastic container with a tight fitting lid.

Ease of growing and harvesting has led to a multitude of bean varieties with rich and diverse histories. Check out the bean offerings at Central Beans ranging from pinto beans most often used in refried beans to Great Northern beans most often used in soups, stews, and cassoulets. If you order your beans online and worry about freshness, never fear. The beans at Central Bean are shipped to you in specially designed storage containers that are sealed and tamper proof leading to a longer shelf life.

Dried beans can be cooked in a saucepan or pot on top of the stove, in a pressure cooker, in an oven, or in a microwave. Whichever way you cook your legumes, Central Bean offers dozens of tempting international bean recipes that are bound to suit your cooking style. For savory greens, toss the Italian Bean and Tuna Salad complete with a mixture of lima beans, dark red kidney beans, and Great Northern or navy beans. Or, transform an every day chicken dinner into Caribbean Chicken with Pineapple-Black Bean Sauce served over rice.

Beans are enjoying a new popularity not just because they taste great. High in protein and complex carbohydrates, beans offer an attractive combination of essential nutrients with only a trace of fat. Browse through the Beans and Your Health section and you'll discover all you need to know to join today's bean revolution.

 
About the Writer

Debbie Mazo is a writer and editor based in Vancouver, Canada. She's been writing the NetFood Digest column for the Global Gourmet since 1997.

Copyright © 2000, Debbie Mazo. All rights reserved.

August 2000

08/21/00—FusionCooking.com
08/14/00—www.simplyseafood.com
08/07/00—FreshMangoes.com

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