Beans, split peas and even lentils are more generally referred to pulses. From its rather general meaning, pulses happen to be the edibles seeds sourced commonly from legume plants. Branching briefly into their nutritional elements, we see that pulses are low in fats, being healthy protein alternatives while maintaining an admirable composition of fiber. Good having established this groundwork, let us move on.

Now while beans is a common household meal, it may surprise you to know that there is an encompassing variety of beans. Very understandably, different cultures associate different tags (or recognition so to say) to the different variety of beans. The white kidney beans to some is the very cranberry beans to others, while others could also refer to as roman beans (or better still borlotti beans). Although in modern reality, the majority of beans we savor at home like the cannellini beans, red beans, black beans are gotten in canned form. The same can be also said of chickpeas.

Talking briefly about Chickpeas, would you be surprised to know these delicious darlings we affectionately munch have been in existence since the earliest centuries? Yes, chickpeas are almost as old as humanity. More tangibly, the earliest origin of chickpeas can be traced to Southwest Asia.

Historians have accorded chickpeas the honorary reputation of being one of the oldest crops to have been cultivated (or gathered as the case may be). Ancient Egyptians, Romans and even the Greeks have been making mesmerizing dishes from peas since time immemorial. Do you even know it was peas Gregor Mendel (the reputable father of genetics) used in his genetic studies as far back the 1860s?

Now split peas can be possibly seen as the mature variants of green peas. In most cases we have today, the dried seeds of peas are peeled. After this procedure, they are then split in such way that the surface area of the pea increases. Generally, as you commonly have it, split peas are shared or split along the mechanical seam. This aside other considerations has the advantage of making it cook much faster. Do you get it now?

Now don’t forget that while you may necessarily have to soak and cook your peas, it is not a compulsory procedure when it comes to the split peas. You are definitely not going to cook your dried beans the same way you cook your split peas. In most cases, the soaking procedures vary. While you may reuse say a maximum of an hour to soak and cook your lentils, in the case of dried beans you could even need to soak it for as much as four hours – or even for the full night if you so choose to. Alright, now let us move forward, should we?

We still have the yellow and green split peas. They don’t really differ much when it comes to cooking time and even their nutritional content. Without any argument, green peas are a greater delicacy when compared to yellow peas. Yellow peas kind of have more of an earthy flavor. Green peas are dazzling and when they land on your expectant tongue, gosh the deliciousness!

Many cultures around the world have come to the discovery of the wonder taste of both the yellow and green split peas, hence they have found an exhaustive number of ways to sneak it into their dishes manufacturing several wonderful recipes from them.  Khoreshtgheimeh is a famous Persian stew which is deliciously cooked from yellow split pea and lamb. The Dahl is another delicacy made from peas that a basic Indian wouldn’t dare to joke with. The pease porridge is favorite of Medieval Europe while many sweet snacks in China owe their culinary marvel to the composition of chickpeas.

Just as we said in the beginning, if you are very cautious of meals containing a fearful amount of fats, then you have nothing to fear in pulses cutting through lentils, split peas, and even beans. And again, the proportion of fiber these meals bring is very healthy and just excellent for you. So while you enjoy great meals you don’t have to think of the consequential repercussions. Don’t you like eating with such peace of mind?

Contact us at Adascan, so we can help you with all of your pulse needs, as we have a wide selection.