Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Beans

Ingrediente

Origem
from the Americas
Também chamado de
beans

Beans are the inseparable companion of rice in Brazilian cooking. Simmered in a seasoned broth, they form the base of everyday meals and party dishes like feijoada. Nutritious and cheap, they go a long way and take many seasonings, from simple garlic to sautés with bacon and sausage. Each region of the country has its favorite type, which makes beans a portrait of the national table.

Characteristics

Carioca beans, streaked with a light broth, are the most eaten day to day. Black beans, dark with a full-bodied broth, are the feijoada bean. Black-eyed peas, pale and firm, are typical of the Northeast and show up in baião de dois. There are also white, pink and jalo beans, each with its own cooking time and texture. New beans cook faster and make a creamier broth; old beans need more time in the pressure cooker.

Uses in the kitchen

The classic method is pressure-cooking with water and bay leaf, then seasoning the broth with sautéed garlic and salt. It goes with white rice in daily meals. In full dishes, it becomes feijoada, tropeiro beans, tutu, mixed beans and broths. Black-eyed peas hold their shape for salads and baião de dois. They pair with rice, cassava flour, collard greens, cracklings, sausage, bacon, onion, green herbs and chili.

Substitutions

Among types, carioca can replace pink and jalo beans day to day, and black beans take over full-bodied broth recipes. In salads and baião de dois, black-eyed peas can swap for white beans, which also hold their shape. As a side source, lentils, peas and chickpeas stand in for beans in soups and salads. In traditional feijoada, though, only black beans give the signature flavor and color.

Fun facts

Soaking beans a few hours before cooking cuts pressure time and makes cooking more even; just change the soaking water. Seasoning only after the beans soften keeps the skins from toughening. Mashing a few beans against the pot and stirring them back thickens the broth without flour. Cooked beans freeze well in portions, which helps the routine: just season when serving.

Recipes with beans

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