Haricot beans have been cultivated for centuries. We'll tell you about the origin and history of the nutritious, high-protein beans.
The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is divided into different growth forms: the French bean and the pole bean. In general, there are very different names for the garden bean species, so it is called bush bean, pole bean, green bean, fire bean (Phaseolus coccineus) and in some areas of the Alps also as Fisole.
Culture and discoveries of the ancestors of modern-day haricot beans
The original and wild forms of today's garden bean varieties have their origin in South America. Evidence of this are finds from Chile, Peru and other countries on the continent. In the Peruvian Guitarrero Cave, some circumstantial evidence has been found proving that it was as early as 6000 BC. the ancestors of the garden beans we know today. Excavations were also made in Chile, which prove that around 2700 BC. BC beans with the characteristics of today's common beans were grown. Further archaeological discoveries from 300-400 BC. BC also show that the high cultures from Central America also planted beans, which seems to be proven by finds of seeds and pods. It has also been proven that the forms of the beans we know today were significantly smaller at that time, but the variety of shapes, patterns and colors seems to have been much greater.
The spread of today's kidney beans
In the time before the discovery of the Americas by the Europeans, the cultivation of beans was already practiced on a large scale by the various indigenous tribes. At that time, beans, corn and pumpkin were probably among the most important crops and ensured the nutrition of the population. With the Incas, the ancestors of today's garden beans were probably used mainly as a food source for the lower classes of the population. The upper class of the Inca preferred to eat the moon bean (Phaseolus lunatus). After the discovery of the continent by Columbus, the kidney bean also reached Europe in the course of the 16th centuryMainland. The nutritious bean quickly spread and was increasingly cultivated, competing a bit for space with cowpeas and field beans, which had been cultivated on a large scale until then.
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In the top 3 plant-based protein suppliers
After the soybean and the broad bean, the kidney bean ranks third as an excellent source of vegetable protein with a protein content of around 21 percent. So it doesn't have to be the soybean from faraway countries, the home garden can also produce tasty and protein-rich beans.