Do I have to soak beans?

For even cooking and easier digestion, yes. An overnight soak, water discarded, then fresh water to cook. A pressure cooker can rescue unsoaked beans in a pinch.

Are canned beans as good as dried?

Nutritionally, close. Rinse them to remove a third of the salt, and they earn their place on a busy night.

Why do beans give me gas?

Their oligosaccharides are fermented by gut bacteria. Soaking, rinsing and regular small servings reduce it, and the effect fades as your gut adapts.

Which bean for ghormeh sabzi?

Red kidney beans are the classic. Some families use pinto. Either works; the herb balance matters more.

Chapter 1 of 15

Beans

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A cup of cooked beans gives about 15 g of protein and 13 g of fibre.

Daily legume eaters show lower cholesterol and steadier blood sugar in controlled trials.

Never eat kidney beans raw or undercooked. They carry a toxin that boiling destroys.

Red kidney beans, white beans, pinto, black-eyed. Iran adopted the New World bean centuries ago and made it its own. Ghormeh sabzi, the national stew, is built on red kidney beans. Lubia polo layers them with rice and lamb. Every ash starts with a soaking bowl. Beans are cheap, keep for a year in a jar, and carry more protein and fibre per rial than almost anything else in the pantry.

Known to botanists as Phaseolus vulgaris and relatives.