Pinto bean

Use

The dried pinto bean is used in many dishes, especially refried beans. It is popular in chili con carne, although kidney beans, black beans, and many others may be used in other locales.

Pinto beans are often found in Brazilian cuisine. Legumes, mainly the common bean, are a staple food everywhere in the country, cultivated since 3000 BCE, along with starch-rich foods, such as rice, manioc, pasta, and other wheat-based products, polenta and other corn-based products, potatoes and yams. Pinto beans are also a very important ingredient in Spanish cuisine and Mexican cuisine.

In Spanish cuisine pinto beans are mostly used in a dish named after them.

In the Southern United States, pinto beans are commonly a staple, especially during the winter months. Some organizations and churches in rural areas sponsor "pinto bean suppers" for social gatherings and fund raisers.

Varieties

Pinto bean varieties include: 'Burke', 'Hidatsa', and 'Othello'.

The alubia pinta alavesa, or the "Alavese pinto bean", a red variety of the pinto bean, originated in Añana, a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country of northern Spain. In October, the Feria de la alubia pinta alavesa (Alavese pinto bean fair) is celebrated in Pobes.

Cooking

Pinto beans are often soaked, which greatly shortens cooking time. If unsoaked, they are frequently boiled rapidly for 10 minutes. They will then generally take two to three hours to cook on a stove to soften. In a pressure cooker they will cook very rapidly, perhaps 3 minutes if soaked, and 20-45 minutes if unsoaked. Cooking times vary considerably however and may depend on the source of the bean, hardness of the cooking water and many other factors.

Nutrition

A nutrient-dense legume, the pinto bean contains many essential nutrients. It is a good source of protein, phosphorus and manganese, and very high in dietary fiber and folate.

Rice and pinto beans served with cornbread or maize tortillas are often a staple meal where meat is unavailable. This combination contains the essential amino acids necessary for humans in adequate amounts: maize complements beans' relative scarcity of methionine and cystine and beans complement maize's relative scarcity of lysine and tryptophan.

Studies have indicated pinto beans can lower the levels of both HDL and LDL cholesterol.

References

References

1. "Maize 2003 CGC Meeting". Ars-grin.gov.
2. "The upstanding, outstanding pinto bean {{pipe".
3. (2011). "The Gourmet Toaster Oven: Simple and Sophisticated Meals for the Busy Cook [A Cookbook]". Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed.
4. "NMSU: Using Pinto Beans".
5. Quero, João. (2016-06-24). "Por que feijão se chama carioca se não é o mais consumido no RJ?".
6. "pinto". WordReference.com Spanish-English Dictionary.
7. [http://www.noticiasdealava.com/ediciones/2005/04/23/sociedad/alava/d23ala12.123891.php Recetas para acordarse de sabores perdidos] {{Webarchive. link. (2005-10-29 : "Añana. Es el origen de la alubia pinta alavesa y, como tal, esta legumbre pesa en su cocina. Ya sea en cocido, crema o sopa. El queso Idiazábal o el conejo son otros de sus manjares." (Spanish))
8. [http://www.hiru.com/es/aisialdia/aisia_07_02_04.html Algunas de las ferias tradicionales en Euskadi]: "La Feria de la alubia pinta alavesa, que se celebra en octubre en la localidad de Pobes." (Spanish)
9. "Beans, pinto, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt".
10. [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/organic/essam.html Essential Amino Acids]. phy-astr.gsu.edu: "Tillery points out that a number of popular ethnic foods involve such a combination, so that in a single dish, one might hope to get the ten essential amino acids. Mexican [maize] and beans, Japanese rice and soybeans, and Cajun red beans and rice are examples of such fortuitous combinations."
11. Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations. (1992). "Maize in human nutrition".
12. (November 2007). "Pinto bean consumption changes SCFA profiles in fecal fermentations, bacterial populations of the lower bowel, and lipid profiles in blood of humans". J. Nutr..
13. "Pinto Bean Consumption Reduces Biomarkers for Heart Disease Risk". Jacn.org.