Fava bean

Fava bean
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Genus: Vicia Species: faba
Binomial nomenclature
Vicia faba L

The fava bean, Vicia faba, is also known as the broad bean, horse bean or field bean. While in the same family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), it is not particularly close to the common beans of the genus Phaseolus. It is in the same genus as common vetch. It is frost-tolerant, and is used as a cover crop, for animal feed and for its edible seeds and young pods.

Fava beans are rich in tyramine, and thus should be avoided by those taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors. As they contain vicine and convicine, they can induce hemolytic anemia in patients with Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD). This disease, which is quite common in certain ethnic groups, is therefore called "favism".

Fava beans have a long tradition of cultivation in old world agriculture. It is believed that lentils, fava beans and chickpeas became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC.

European references to beans from before 1492 are to this species.

Fava beans in culture

Fava facts:

• It was very important in Roman times, not only as food, but being used as vote counters.
• The modern name Fabian derives from this bean.
• The magic bean of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is this bean.

According to tradition, Sicily once experienced a failure of all crops other than the fava bean; the fava kept the population from starvation, and thanks were given to Saint Joseph.

Fava beans are traditional in Saint Joseph's Day altars in Italian American communities. Some people carry a fava bean for good luck; some believe that if one carrys a lucky fava bean, one will never be without the essentials of life.

Fava beans are mentioned in a famous line from the movie Silence of the Lambs, when Hannibal Lecter says, "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

External links

• http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/book/chap4/broad.html
• http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Vicia_faba.html
• http://www.kitchengarden.co.za/favabeans.html