Fava bean Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| Fava bean | ||||||||||||||||
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| 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.
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.
In Italy, fava beans are traditionally sown on November 2, All Souls Day, and are thus known as the Beans of the Dead.
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."
The following traditional uses of beans refer to the fava bean. In ancient Greece and Rome, beans were used in voting (a white bean meant yes and a black bean meant no) and as a food for the dead, such as during the annual Lemuria festival. In some folk legends, such as in Estonia and the common Jack and the Beanstalk story, magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds. The Grimm Brothers collected a story in which a bean splits its sides laughing at the failure of others. Dreaming of a bean is sometimes said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said they caused bad dreams. Pliny claimed they acted as a laxative. European folklore also claims that planting beans on Good Friday or during the night-time is good luck.
The modern name Fabian derives from this bean. This is an Article on Fava bean. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Fava bean Fava beans in culture