蠶豆 Fava Bean

Fava beans (also known as broad beans) are the king of all beans; their flavor is smoother, sweeter and richer than most other beans.

蠶豆是豆科巢菜屬一年生或越年生草本。糧食、蔬菜和飼料、綠肥兼用作物。

 

Miloh family planted this bean 3 years on the road..and they are quite productive.

麥寶娘親  從種子種蠶豆 每年都種..3年來 每年都收成.

 

蠶豆原產於西南亞、北非，隨著人類的貿易腳步在全世界的分布非常廣，到現在都還是中亞人作豆泥的重要角色。據說這是張騫通西域的時候順便帶進中國的，所以古代又叫作”胡豆”。蠶豆這個名字有兩種說法，元代王禎在《農書》中說”蠶時始熟，故名”而李時珍《食物本草》則認為其”豆莢狀如老蠶，故名”，兩種說法都有道理。不過如果是要講到嫩蠶豆，那你得特別記得”蠶時始熟”的意思。

”蠶時始熟”的意思是蠶豆開始結實的時候剛好就是養蠶人家開始養蠶的時候，大家都聽過”春蠶到死絲方盡”吧，開始培育蠶的季節就是春末，而鮮蠶豆開始上市的季節就是春末夏初。

Fava beansare large, flat, light green pods usually eaten shelled for their delicious beans. Fava is one of the ancient cultivated crops probably originated in the fertile valleys of Asia Minor or Mediterranean region. Unlike in green beans, where whole immature pods can be eaten, broad beans possess thick indigestible peel that generally shelled to extract their broad, thick, and flat seeds (beans) inside.

 

 

The broad bean has a white flowers that is splotched with brown. The broad bean is not a true bean is related to vetch, another legume.

羽狀複葉。總狀花序，花蝶形。莢果，種子扁平，略呈矩圓形或近於球形。蠶豆花期一般是3月~5月。蠶豆為長日照作物。

Fava bean is one of the ancient cultivated cool season vegetables. The plant is a small annual, glabrous herb with an erect stem growing to the height of up to 6 feet. Pink-white flowers appear in clusters after about three months after seedling. Honeybees play a role as pollinators. Light green, beaded fruit pods which develop out of these flowers, hold about 6-10 flat, broad, irregularly oval-shaped beans inside.

Faba bean, being a legume, is a nitrogen-fixing plant.

The fava bean is a large, green leguminous vegetable believed to have a long history of cultivation in Old World agriculture. Because fava beans are good at fixing nitrogen in the soil, farmers often use them as a cover crop (a crop planted to replenish soil nutrients, increase fertility, and manage pests and weeds) to rotate in between plantings of other crops, particularly during the winter.

蠶豆納入輪作，能固定的氮量高。，農夫可以有蠶豆作為收成的一部分，比單純將豆類作物當作綠肥的收益更高；蠶豆在種植後數年，都會持續釋放出氮與碳，農夫也可以調整肥料的使用量，降低成本；再加上輪作可以使得單一作物的害蟲無法持續繁殖，真的是一舉數得唷！

 

蠶豆的莢果呈扁平筒形，未成熟時豆莢為綠色，莢殼肥厚而多汁，莢內有絲絨狀茸毛，因含豐富的酪氨酸酶，成熟的豆莢為黑色。每莢種子2～4粒，種子扁平，略呈矩圓形，種皮顏色因品種而異，有乳白、灰白、黃、肉紅、褐、紫、青綠等色，臍色有黑鈀與無色兩種。

鮮蠶豆在中國很多地區都被當做”立夏三鮮”之一，立夏三鮮是一種節氣風俗，就是立夏這天吃三樣鮮嫩的當令食物。鮮蠶豆又綠又嫩，自有一種奇妙的口感與香氣，風味跟毛豆、皇帝豆都相差甚遠，可以清炒、炒蝦仁、乾煸等等，都非常美味。

莢殼很好吃..不要丟掉! 也很營養.

營養學認為，蠶豆中含有調節大腦和神經組織的重要成分鈣、鋅、錳、磷脂等，並含有豐富的膽石鹼，有增強記憶力的健腦作用。

蠶豆中含有大量蛋白質，在日常食用的豆類中僅次於大豆，並且胺基酸種類較為齊全，特別是賴氨酸含量豐富。

值得注意的是蠶豆的皮膳食纖維含量很高，能夠促進腸胃蠕動，但同時膳食纖維也是一種不易消化的成分，如果過多食用，則會適得其反。

不過還是要提醒一下，如果您有蠶豆症（六磷酸葡萄糖去氫酵素缺乏症），可千萬不要嘗試蠶豆料理，切記切記。

Fava beans are dense with nutrition. Also known as broad beans, fava beans have no saturated fat or cholesterol and contain a high concentration of thiamin, vitamin K, vitamin B-6, potassium, copper, selenium, zinc and magnesium. They are also an inexpensive source of lean protein. Fava beans can be served raw or cooked, though the bean pods must first be blanched and the mature seeds shelled before eating. A serving of cooked or fresh fava beans can significantly increase your intake of folate, iron, manganese and dietary fiber, all nutrients that can benefit your health in a variety of ways.

G6PD deficiency people should NOT eat fava bean!

 

 

 

Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Legume Crop Residues for Three Subsequent Crops

https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/sssaj/abstracts/79/6/1650