The first cultivated beans appeared 4,000 years ago in the Aegean, Iberia, and transalpine Europe and they were large-seeded broad beans. From the about the same time date beans found in Guitarrero Cave, an archaeological site in Peru which proves that beans appeared practically everywhere and where one of the staple foods of the early peoples.
Where do beans originally come from?
From its origins as a wild vine in Central and South America to the thousands of varieties grown around the world today, beans have evolved to be one of the world’s most important and versatile crops. The common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris) originated as a wild vine in Central and South America.
Wild variants of broad beans (fava beans) were gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills. Beans were also found in the tombs of the kings of the ancient Egypt where they were left as the food for the departed and their souls in the afterlife.
Where are beans grown in the world?
Exceptions are lentils and cowpeas. The world leader in production of Dry Beans ( Phaseolus spp), is Myanmar (Burma), followed by India and Brazil. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.
What is the history of beans?
Bean is one of the earliest cultivated plants. The oldest findings and proofs that we used beans for food are 9,000 years old and were found in Thailand. Wild variants of broad beans (fava beans) were gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills.
Why is the original location of beans so important?
The importance of the original location of beans is due to the wild adaptability of the original plant, which allowed it to move into a wide variety of climatic regimes, from the lowland tropics of Mesoamerica into the Andean highlands.
Where did the word bean come from?
The word “bean” and its Germanic cognates (e. g. German Bohne) have existed in common use in West Germanic languages since before the 12th century, referring to broad beans, chickpeas, and other pod-borne seeds. This was long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe.
The plant that produces the delicious vanilla bean has its origins in Mexico and was kept secret by the native Totonac Indians for centuries. The Totonac Indians were conquered by the Aztecs who kept these glorious vanilla plants to themselves.