Produce recently spotted at The Market
Produce Briefs...
Roselle Flowers
Roselle may be used raw, dried or juiced. The fruit's tart flavor requires a sweetener of some kind, and it is successfully used like a cranberry in recipes for jam, jelly, chutney and even wine.
Barrel Cactus Fruit
The fruit of the Barrel cactus is best prepared in sweet applications, since its natural tartness lends itself well to a hint of sugar. Cook the fruit down with agave syrup to make a jam, jelly or a sweet and sour chutney.
Description/Taste
The Wing bean plant produces pea-like beans with four-winged edges. Its lawn green pods are best picked when immature, so that the pod and beans within can be eaten. Their flavor is sweet like many pea varieties, with a clean grassy finish. If harvesting the leaves, they have a mild spinach-like flavor and the flowers' flavor has been compared to the flavor of mushrooms.
Seasons/Availability
Wing beans are available during the spring, summer and fall months.
Current Facts
The Wing bean, AKA Winged bean, Asparagus pea and Goa pea, is an herbaceous perennial legume plant. Its beans grow on climbing vines and stems similar to other legume varieties such as snow peas and fava beans. In addition to being cultivated for its beans, the leaves, flowers, roots and dried seeds can also be harvested for culinary purposes.
Nutritional Value
Wing beans offer an abundance of essential nutrients, including protein, complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, calcium, iron and fiber.
Applications
As Wing beans are cultivated in tropical Asia, Africa and Hawaii they are used most often as a vegetable within cuisines from these regions. The delicate pods pick up bold flavors of chiles, garlic and spices.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
In Sri Lanka and southern India, Wing beans are most often used for pickling. In Myanmar and New Guinea, special cultivars are grown for their tuberous roots, which resemble mini sweet potatoes and have a nutty taste.
Geography/History
Wing beans are only known to be cultivated, no wild specimen has ever been found. Original cultivation began in Papua New Guinea where the greatest diversity of varieties exist. Wing beans thrive in tropical climates with warm weather, humidity and abundant rainfall. They are grown in Southeast Asia, specifically areas within both the Phillipines and Thailand. Wing beans also grow prolifically in tropical Africa and within the islands of Hawaii.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Wing Beans. One
is easiest, three is harder.Recently Spotted
Someone spotted Wing Beans using the Specialty Produce app for iPhone and Android.
Produce Spotting allows you to share your produce discoveries with your neighbors and the world! Is your market carrying green dragon apples? Is a chef doing things with shaved fennel that are out of this world? Pinpoint your location annonymously through the Specialty Produce App and let others know about unique flavors that are around them.
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Lidl
Near Dagenham, United Kingdom About 216 days ago, 2/17/17 Spotter's comments : Wing Beans spotted at Lidl. |
