lupine beans
has anyone ever tried their hands at growing these?
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DoubleDogFarm
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 6113
- Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 pm
Lupini or lupine beans are the seeds of several cultivars in the Lupinus genus. These plants have traditionally been grown as ornamentals in the garden, and because they are in the legume family, when they go to seed, they make pods filled with beans. At some point, the Romans realized that the seeds of some lupines could probably be eaten, and lupini beans entered the Mediterranean diet. Commonly, lupini beans come from white, Andean, blue, or yellow lupines. They come with a caution, however, as they contain bitter alkaloids which can be poisonous if the beans are not treated properly.
In order to make lupini beans edible, the beans have to be soaked in a brine solution to draw out the alkaloids. Typically, the beans are washed first and then soaked in a brine which is changed until the brine no longer tastes bitter, indicating that the alkaloids in the beans have been leached out. It can take as many as five days with twice daily changes of the brine to make lupini beans safe to eat and tasty, although a varietal known as sweet lupini beans requires somewhat less soaking. When properly soaked, lupini beans have a great flavor, and they are also very high in protein, making them a good choice for vegans and vegetarians.
This sounds like a whole lot of work. I would rather grow Fava, Scarlet runner or any other dry bean.
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-lupini-beans.htm
I also have Lupines in my orchard. Nitrogen fixation.
Eric
In order to make lupini beans edible, the beans have to be soaked in a brine solution to draw out the alkaloids. Typically, the beans are washed first and then soaked in a brine which is changed until the brine no longer tastes bitter, indicating that the alkaloids in the beans have been leached out. It can take as many as five days with twice daily changes of the brine to make lupini beans safe to eat and tasty, although a varietal known as sweet lupini beans requires somewhat less soaking. When properly soaked, lupini beans have a great flavor, and they are also very high in protein, making them a good choice for vegans and vegetarians.
This sounds like a whole lot of work. I would rather grow Fava, Scarlet runner or any other dry bean.
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-lupini-beans.htm
I also have Lupines in my orchard. Nitrogen fixation.
Eric
