# Who figured out how to cook beans the first time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046 "2023-05-14T22:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/22 "2023-05-15T12:02:32Z")
I thought peas (which are just a type of bean) were middle eastern, too. [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea) supports my recollection > The wild pea is restricted to the [Mediterranean Basin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Basin) and the Near East. The earliest archaeological finds of peas date from the late Neolithic era of current Syria, Anatolia, Israel, Iraq, Jordan and Greece. In Egypt, early finds date from c. 4800–4400 BC in the [Nile delta](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_delta) area, and from c. 3800–3600 BC in Upper Egypt. The pea was also present in [Georgia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)) in the 5th millennium BC. Farther east, the finds are younger. Peas were present in [Afghanistan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan) c. 2000 BC, in [Harappan civilization](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harappan_civilization) around modern-day [Pakistan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan) and western- and northwestern [India](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/India) in 2250–1750 BC. In the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, this [legume crop](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_(legume)) appears in the [Ganges Basin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_Basin) and southern India.[[9]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea#cite_note-9) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/23 "2023-05-15T12:29:58Z")
Yep - peas are middle eastern/asian/mediterranean - lentils too. Mung beans are from Asia. Other minor legumes such as vetches (which are sort of edible, and were certainly eaten, despite certain [health impacts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lathyrism)) are native to the whole of northern Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/24 "2023-05-15T12:48:10Z")
As for the thing about cooking stuff by boiling then draining to reduce toxicity - that strategy is employed across a range of different foods - I expect the concept of ‘cooking/draining makes this inedible thing tolerably edible’ was established as a general rule before its application to kidney beans specifically. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/25 "2023-05-15T13:52:23Z")
Also soybeans, adzuki beans, mung beans, lupins, etc. etc. Lots of non-Americas beans. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/26 "2023-05-15T13:57:24Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t know about other beans, but chick peas have been eaten in Eurasia since _long_ before the Columbian Exchange. They are all legumes but they are different genera. Common names don’t make that clear. Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) and lentils (Lens culinaris) are old world legumes like peas (Pisum sativum) and favas (Vicia fava). Green beans, and all the dried beans like pintos, kidneys, white, black and hundreds of others, are all Phaseolus vulgaris and were domesticated in Central and South America. Along with Lima beans – aptly named – and Scarlet Runners, which are also Phaseolus species. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/27 "2023-05-15T14:06:06Z")
Sure, common names are not exact, but c’mon, peas _are_ beans. If it was the case that _only_ the species in, say, phaseolus were called ‘beans’, that would be one thing, but there are lots of different species in fabiaceae that have the name ‘bean’ (not all of those are new world - for example yard-long beans)- thus, I think it’s reasonable to argue that anything in fabiaceae can reasonably be called a bean. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/28 "2023-05-15T14:16:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > As for the thing about cooking stuff by boiling then draining to reduce toxicity - that strategy is employed across a range of different foods Yep. I come from [poke country](https://www.wildabundance.net/blog/pokeweed/). (I’ve done a lot of picking it, even done the cooking it, but never tasted it because it smells pretty bad while cooking.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/29 "2023-05-15T14:22:44Z")
I’m more curious about who it was the came up with the idea of cooking meat. I’m picturing a bunch of cavemen who spent all day chasing down and killing a wild animal and cutting up its body with sharpened rocks. And then one guy suggests they should set their food on fire. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/30 "2023-05-15T14:29:51Z")
Have you smelled cooked meat? Stewed or roasted, the smell is probably why people did it. (honestly, it probably smells so pleasing because we -animals- are wired to find safe food VERY pleasing) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/31 "2023-05-15T14:36:36Z")
Off the top of my head - some poor proto-humans who had just mastered fire were sitting around freezing one winter, huddled around the fire. One got hungry, but the haunch of beast they were eating on was frozen. Some female held it near the fire to thaw it out and Robert’s your mother’s brother. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/32 "2023-05-15T14:48:01Z")
Forget meat, why would anyone eat anything that comes out of the ocean that doesn’t swim? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/33 "2023-05-15T14:59:27Z")
?? Well, seaweed. But what animals are you referring to? Crabs, mollusks, worms? Some of those are incredibly delicious. Crabs are much meatier than the insects they resemble. Mollusks may be even tougher to open but don’t pinch. Maybe a giant clam could pinch pretty bad but the quahogs in there parts are no danger. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/34 "2023-05-15T15:48:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Sure, common names are not exact, but c’mon, peas _are_ beans. > > If it was the case that _only_ the species in, say, phaseolus were called ‘beans’, that would be one thing, but there are lots of different species in fabiaceae that have the name ‘bean’ (not all of those are new world - for example yard-long beans)- thus, I think it’s reasonable to argue that anything in fabiaceae can reasonably be called a bean. As a gardener, the product of a year-long professional gardening apprenticeship in my distant youth, who at one time had four immediate family members who were state certified Master Gardeners and two who made their living at it, I would say no, peas are not beans. Peas and beans and lentils and vetch and horse beans and others are all _legumes_: different genera, different continent of origin, different cultivation needs, all different. The reason Phaseolus are called in English, “beans”, is because that was a general word for some legumes in the UK when they were introduced. Common names are an extremely inexact way to talk about plants with many reduplications, local names, etc. That’s why binomial nomenclature is what expert gardeners use when there is a confusion of language in English (or any other language). There’s something called a pea bean, which is a Phaseolus vulgaris variety that is more round than typical. Black-eyed peas are not peas either, they are a Vigna species like vetch and fava beans. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/35 "2023-05-15T15:48:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Forget meat, why would anyone eat anything that comes out of the ocean that doesn’t swim? Because it’s a lot easier to harvest mussels than to catch tuna. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/36 "2023-05-15T15:51:49Z")
It wasn’t always that way: [![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0919/5686/products/BC-02-15-67_ClamsGotLegs_1024x1024.jpg?v=1493748273) ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0919/5686/products/BC-02-15-67_ClamsGotLegs_1024x1024.jpg?v=1493748273) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/37 "2023-05-15T15:52:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Off the top of my head - some poor proto-humans who had just mastered fire were sitting around freezing one winter, huddled around the fire. One got hungry, but the haunch of beast they were eating on was frozen. Some female held it near the fire to thaw it out and Robert’s your mother’s brother. This is exactly what I mean about the imaginary desperation we attach to early humans. There is no proof of this being common. Ever been sitting around a campfire? Did you have the urge to stick things in it and see what happened? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/38 "2023-05-15T15:55:22Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Did you have the urge to stick things in it and see what happened? Must. Resist. Posting. Star. Trek. Meme. There is no proof of it being uncommon either. But yeah, the “I wonder what will happen if I do this?” gene is strong in humans from waay back. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/39 "2023-05-15T16:49:38Z")
What about edamame? Are they beans? They seem more like peas. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/40 "2023-05-15T17:10:23Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’m wondering what led someone to take this tiny, hard, indigestible and potentially toxic seeds and try to cook them Have you ever tasted green olives from the tree? How anyone ever bit into one of those and thought, I bet I can make these palatable, has a MUCH greater imagination than I. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/41 "2023-05-15T18:01:01Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > What about edamame? Are they beans? You mean green soy_ **beans** _? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046.md?page=3)