13.3 Pods and seeds

Corn, okra and the legumes are grouped together because the part a cook uses is the seed. With some, only the seed is eaten. With others, the pod that holds the seeds is eaten too.

The legume family

A legume has a pod with two seams and a single row of seeds inside. There are hundreds of kinds of beans. Some are grown for a pod you can eat, some for fresh seeds you shell out of the pod, and some only for the dried seed.

Fresh beans with pods you eat

Green beans are picked young, before the seeds inside grow large. They go by many names: string beans, runner beans and snap beans. You eat the whole pod except the stem.

• Green beans and yellow wax beans are the everyday kinds.
• Haricot vert is a long, thin French bean. It is tender and has a strong flavor.
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If the pod has a string along its seams, pull it off before you cook. Leave the beans whole, slice them on a slant, or cut them along their length into thin strips, which is called French cut. see chapter 4: Sticks: julienne and batonnet

Steam, sauté or microwave fresh beans, or add them to soups and stews. Cooked beans can also be chilled and served as a salad. They go with many flavors, from garlic and olive oil to coconut milk. see chapter 9: Steaming vegetables

Buying. Look for a bright color and no brown or soft spots. Large pods can be tough or bitter. Fresh beans are best from April to December. Most kinds are also sold frozen or canned, some pickled or seasoned.

Shelling beans

Shelling beans are grown for the seeds, not the pod. The pods are tough and are not usually eaten. Flageolets, lima beans and fava beans, also called broad beans, are shelling beans.

Shelling peas

The common fresh shelling peas are green garden peas, also called English peas, and the small French petit pois. Peas lose flavor quickly once picked, so most are sold frozen or canned.

Their taste is sweet and delicate. Steaming them just until tender shows it best. Peas can also be braised with a rich meat such as ham, added to soups, or used in salads and as a garnish. see chapter 10: The basic steps

Buying. Choose small pods that look full and feel moist. The season peaks in April and May.

Edamame and soybeans

Edamame is the Japanese name for fresh green soybeans. Picked before they ripen, they have a fuzzy, pale green pod and a sweet, tender seed. Steam them in the pod, chill them, then pop the beans out and eat them as a snack. They are often served in sushi restaurants. They are very high in protein and fiber.

Soybeans left to ripen are another matter. Cooked like other dried beans, mature soybeans turn very tough, bitter and hard to digest. They are better made into oil, tofu, soy sauce and other foods.

Pea pods you eat whole

• Snow peas, also called Chinese pea pods, are flat, with only a few tiny peas inside. Remove the string along the seam: hold the leafy stem and pull it from one end to the other. Eat snow peas raw, steam or blanch them lightly, or stir-fry them.
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• Sugar snap peas were bred in the late 1970s by crossing the garden pea with the snow pea. The pods are plump and juicy and full of small, tender peas. Eat the whole pod. Do not shell them before cooking.

Buying. Pea pods should be firm, crisp and bright green, with no brown spots and no shriveling. They are sold all year and are at their best in March and April.

Dried beans, lentils and peas

People around the world have dried legumes to keep them for thousands of years. For drying, the plants stay in the field until the seeds are fully ripe and starting to dry. Then they are picked, shelled, and dried quickly in currents of warm air.

Shape tells the three groups apart:

• Beans are oval or shaped like a kidney.
• Lentils are small, flat discs.
• Peas are round.

Some legumes are sold split. The skin has been taken off, and the seed falls into its two halves.

Most dried beans need soaking. Soaking puts water back into the bean and softens it, so it cooks in less time. Lentils and split peas usually need no soaking, and they are done sooner than beans. Once soaked, beans usually simmer or bake in liquid until soft.

In most recipes one bean can stand in for another. Think about color, how starchy each bean is, and flavor before you swap.

Dried beans and peas are sold loose in bulk or in plastic bags of 1 pound (450 grams). Many are also sold already cooked, in cans or frozen. Some are fermented, or made into flour, oil or bean curd.

Storing. Keep dried legumes somewhere cool and dry. Do not refrigerate them. A dry storeroom should be kept between 10°C and 15°C (50°F and 59°F), with shelves at least 15 cm (6 in.) off the floor, and stock rotated first in, first out. see chapter 2: Dry storage

Sprouts. Mung beans are often sprouted. Raw sprouts of any kind, bean sprouts included, are a potentially hazardous food.

Corn

Sweet corn is in fact a grain, from a kind of grass. Its kernels are seeds, like peas. They are white or yellow and sit on a hard cob that cannot be eaten. Fine threads called silks wrap the cob, and thin leaves called husks cover it all.

Shuck the ears before cooking: pull off the husks and silks. For grilling or roasting you can leave the husks on. Shucked corn can be boiled, steamed, grilled or microwaved, and the kernels can be cut from the cob before or after cooking. see chapter 8: Fitting the method to the food

Buying. Choose ears picked recently, with small, firm kernels. Avoid ears with mold or rot at the tip, or with brown silks. Summer is the best season. Corn on the cob is also sold frozen, and loose kernels are sold canned or frozen.

Okra

Okra came to African and Arab cooking first. Enslaved people and French settlers brought it to the United States. Today it is part of Creole, Cajun, southern and southwestern cooking. Its taste is mild, a little like asparagus.

Okra is not eaten raw. Boil, steam, pickle or deep-fry it. Long cooking makes it turn thick and gluey, which is why cooks use it to thicken gumbo and stews.

Some diners dislike the slimy texture. To keep it down, do not wash okra until just before you cook it, and trim only the stem end. Cook it in stainless steel; other metals turn it dark.

Buying. Choose small to medium pods, 1½ to 2 inches (3.75 to 5 cm) long, deep green with no soft spots. Pale pods with stiff tips are often tough. Okra is in season from June to September and is easy to find frozen.

Storing fresh pods and seeds

Most fresh produce is kept in the refrigerator, between 2°C and 4°C (36°F and 39°F), so it stays fresh. Moisture on vegetables softens them and starts rot.