Where Are Black Beans Grown? A Detailed Guide to How to Eat Them and Their Benefits and Effects
Black beans, also known as lub beans, black soybeans, etc., have the characteristics of high protein and low calories, with a black outer skin and a yellow or green interior, and have long enjoyed the reputation of the king of beans. So, where are black beans grown? How do you eat them? What benefits and effects do they have?
Where are black beans grown?
1. In China, black beans are planted everywhere from south to north, and the richness of variety resources ranks first among all countries in the world. At present, China preserves more than 22,000 accessions of soybean variety resources, of which 2,980 are black soybeans, accounting for 13.2%, mostly distributed in the Yellow River basin, which is the main producing area of small black beans. Today, the Loess Plateau region in northern Shaanxi and Shanxi still mainly grows small black beans. In some places, farmers collectively call soybeans black beans, calling yellow soybeans white black beans and black beans black black beans, which shows how widespread and long-standing local black bean cultivation is.
2. The cultivated types of black beans are rich. In the north, they are mostly spring black beans with one harvest a year; in the Yellow River basin there are both spring black beans and summer black beans; south of the Yangtze River, in addition to spring sowing and summer sowing, there are also autumn-sown black beans and winter-sown black beans. The growth period of black beans is as short as 90 days and as long as 165 days, so there are distinctions of extremely early-maturing, early-maturing, mid-maturing, mid-late-maturing, late-maturing, and extremely late-maturing types. The seed size of black beans also varies greatly. The smallest, such as the black bean of Ji County, Shanxi Province, has a 100-seed weight of only 4 grams; the largest, such as the black silkworm-mouth bean of Jintan City, Jiangsu Province, has a 100-seed weight of 3704 grams. Black beans are divided into extremely small, small, medium, medium-large, large, and extra-large types, but small and medium types predominate. The seed shapes of black beans differ, mostly long oval, and also flat oval, flat round, kidney-shaped, and round, with round seeds being fewer. The cotyledons of black beans are mostly yellow, accounting for more than 96%, and very few are green, the so-called black skin with green kernel. This kind of black bean has high nutritional value and medicinal value, is called medicinal black bean, and is a good variety for export.
3. China has many precious black bean varieties. For example, the bright-skin green-kernel black bean newly cultivated at the Jiamusi black bean planting base in Heilongjiang Province, and the black-skin green-kernel of Zhejiang Province, are traditional export products that earn foreign exchange, and their price on the international market is five or six times higher than that of wheat; the Taixing black bean of Jiangsu Province and the bright-skin green-kernel black bean newly cultivated at the Jiamusi black bean planting base in Heilongjiang Province are insensitive to light and extremely adaptable, which is very rare among various soybean varieties; the Ying County small black bean and the Xing County gray cloth branch black bean of Shanxi Province are valuable resources resistant to cyst nematode disease. Many varieties also have relatively high medicinal value, and some black bean varieties have special stress resistance, with relatively high application value in production and breeding.
How do you eat black beans?
1. Black bean and chicken claw soup
Pick out impurities from the black beans, soak them in clean water for 30 minutes, and set aside; wash the chicken claws and blanch them thoroughly in a pot of boiling water. Put water in a pot over heat, add the chicken claws and black beans, first bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, then switch to low heat and simmer until the meat and beans are thoroughly cooked, add salt to season, and it is ready to eat.
2. Black beans stewed with carp
Slaughter and clean the carp, removing scales, gills, and intestines. Put the black beans in a pot and stir-fry until the bean shells split open, then wash them. Remove the pits from the red dates and wash them. Put the carp, black beans, and red dates into a stewing jar, add an appropriate amount of water, cover well, and stew over water for 3 hours until done.
3. Black beans soaked in vinegar
Put the black beans in a flat-bottomed pan and stir-fry over medium heat until the skins burst, put the black beans into a bottle or jar, add rice vinegar, and after it cools seal the bottle cap well. Once the black beans have absorbed the vinegar and expanded, they are ready to eat.
What benefits and effects do black beans have?
1. Black beans are rich in trace elements. Every 100 grams of black beans contains 370 milligrams of calcium, 577 milligrams of phosphorus, and 12 milligrams of iron, and the content of others such as zinc, copper, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, and fluorine is also not low. These elements can meet the needs of the brain, delay the aging of the brain and body, reduce blood viscosity, and maintain the integrity of body functions.
2. For young women, black beans also have the effect of beautifying and nourishing the skin. Black beans are rich in vitamins, among which the E group and B group vitamins are highest in content, and it is well known that the content of vitamin E is 5~7 times higher than that of meat. Vitamin E is a rather important substance for maintaining youthful beauty.
3. Minerals such as calcium and magnesium in black beans can also relieve the tension of the smooth muscles of the internal organs (except the heart), playing a role in dilating blood vessels and promoting blood circulation, thereby alleviating high blood pressure. It can be said that black beans are a soy product that patients with high blood pressure can eat more of.