Recipe: Super Swedish “Meat”balls on a Stick

Hi! I’m a Bean!

"Hey! How've you bean … I mean, been? My name is Cannellini, and I'm a white bean! We beans go back a long, long time. A couple of my cousins are the Navy bean and the Great Northern bean. You can add us to soups, stews, and chili, or eat us all by ourselves! We sometimes cause tummies to inflate (you know, get gassy?), but soaking, draining, and rinsing dried beans really well might help prevent that from happening. Did you know that Senate Bean Soup is on the menu at the US Senate's Dirksen Café every single day?! I'm inflating with pride just thinking about that!"

History

• Globally, there are 13,000 known varieties of beans. They include the white bean, like the Italian Cannelini, Great Northern, and Navy Bean; the black turtle bean (usually shortened to black bean); and the pinto bean. What kind of beans are you using today?
• Beans were one of the first foods gathered, according to archaeologists. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors used beans as food tens of thousands of years ago. They were grown around 7,000 years ago in the Middle East. 
• In ancient Greece, public officials were elected if they picked the single white bean from a bunch of black beans. 
• In the 15th century, Spanish explorers brought beans to Europe when they returned from voyages to the New World. Then, Spanish and Portuguese traders took them to Africa and Asia to sell. 
• Beans are now prevalent worldwide, primarily due to their use as an inexpensive, plant-based protein.
• Today, the largest commercial producers of common dried beans are India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, and the United States. 
• North Dakota grows forty percent of the beans in the US, more than any other state!
• Brazil grows the most beans in the world. 
• In Nicaragua, newlyweds are given a bowl of beans for good luck.

Anatomy & Etymology

• Did you know: Beans are technically a fruit! 
• Beans are legumes, so they have seeds that dry in the seed pod. Other legumes include lentils, peas, peanuts, and soybeans.
• Beans plants leave the soil better and healthier than before they were planted. Most plants deplete the soil, but not beans. This is because they have nodules on their roots that add nitrogen, which the soil needs. 
• The world's tallest bean plant was over 45 feet tall! That's the equivalent of three average-sized giraffes stacked on top of one another. The plant was grown in the USA in 2003.
• The word "bean" was first used before the 12th century. It comes from the Old English "bēan," from the Proto-Germanic "bauno," and is related to the Dutch "boon" and German "Bohne."

How to Pick, Buy, & Eat

• Beans are harvested at full maturity when their pod reaches about six inches long, and the leaves turn brown and fall off about 75 days after the beans are planted.
• When harvested, the shells are broken open, and the beans are collected as long as they are dry. If they're not thoroughly dried, they can be hung up to finish drying before they're popped from their shells. 
• We can't eat raw, uncooked beans. Why? Because beans have something called lectins that are poisonous, and the only way to remove most of these lectins is to cook the beans.
• If you're using dried beans, soak them before cooking to remove "antinutrients," compounds that block the absorption of nutrients. 
• Dried beans are generally available in prepackaged containers as well as bulk bins; both canned and dried beans are available throughout the year. 
• Canned beans can stay fresh for years! 
• Combine the creamy texture of beans with a whole grain such as brown rice, and you have a virtually fat-free high-quality protein meal. 
• Beans are made into burgers, dips, brownies, cakes, dips, fudge, muffins, pies, and drinks (coffee and cocoa beans). They can also be used in jewelry, toys, and musical instruments. "Bean bag chairs" are made with polystyrene "beans," but the small bean bags for play are sometimes made with real dried beans. 

Nutrition

• Beans are complex carbohydrates and high in fiber, which keeps our digestion strong and smooth and our tummies happy. 
• Beans are excellent sources of iron, magnesium, and potassium. The body needs these minerals to grow, develop, and stay healthy.
• Beans supply several B vitamins to our diet, especially folate (B-9). These vitamins contribute to healthy brain function, formation of red blood cells, increased energy, and decreased cancer and cardiovascular disease risk.  
• The fiber and protein in beans are good for stabilizing blood sugar. They are popular with vegans and vegetarians because they replace some of the nutrients found in meat.

Beany Expressions:

• Bean counter = an accountant
• Bean pole = describing someone tall and thin
• Cool beans = when something is cool
• It doesn't amount to a hill of beans = when something doesn't add up to much
• Full of beans = full of energy, enthusiasm
• ​Hasn't got a bean = doesn't have any money
• Not worth a bean = not worth anything
• ​Spill the beans = dish the dirt, tell the truth