# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/42 "2023-05-15T18:01:53Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > I was thinking this the other day, only about flour. How did we get from grasses to wheat, and then wheat kernels to flour? We probably got from grasses to wheat somewhat by accident. Harvest the largest kernels, because that’s where the most reward for time is. Bring some of them back home. Spill some of them, both during harvest and at home. Harvest the largest kernels from the resulting plants, rinse, repeat . . . somebody notices and starts doing it on purpose . . . congratulations (or possibly condolences), you’re a grain farmer. Young grains can often be eaten without cooking. Harder work and less nutrition, but still worth doing. Grinding’s not that far from chewing. People who don’t have all their teeth yet, and people who no longer have all their teeth, can’t chew well. Probably we started by chewing their food for them; then one day somebody (maybe somebody with sore teeth and a couple of kids plus Grandma to provide for) had the bright idea that grinding between a couple of rocks would do something similar. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m more curious about who it was the came up with the idea of cooking meat. People scavenging food after a natural fire, finding cooked meat, discovering it was tender and delicious? > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > why would anyone eat anything that comes out of the ocean that doesn’t swim? They’d been watching the otters do it? I’m sure we watched all sorts of other creatures eating all sorts of stuff, from long before we were humans. I very much doubt that eating shellfish etc. was something we didn’t learn until we became homo-supposedly-sapiens. > [@carrps](#): > > What about edamame? Are they beans? Soybeans; varieties bred to be eaten at the green stage. ---
**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, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/43 "2023-05-15T18:10:15Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Common names are an extremely inexact way to talk about plants with many reduplications, local names, etc. Yeah, but I generally use common names anyway. And I refer to pretty much all legumes as “beans”. As in, “peanuts are just beans that grow their seeds underground.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/44 "2023-05-15T18:10:32Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@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. - Especially since it involved a caustic substance. ---
**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, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/45 "2023-05-15T18:11:54Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You mean green soy_ **beans** _? Well, yeah. Are soybeans beans or are they just called beans because they look like beans? I was wondering if they were in a different class or whatever. ---
**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, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/46 "2023-05-15T18:27:42Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Are soybeans beans Yes. > [@carrps](#): > > are they just called beans because they look like beans Also yes. > [@carrps](#): > > I was wondering if they were in a different class or whatever. “Bean” is paraphyletic. It transcends class. The word “bean” for legumes predates the Columbian Exchange [by several hundred years](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bean#Old_English), so _Phaseolus_-only purists are, rather appropriately, farting in a gale. See also: _[corn](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corn#Old_English)_. ---
**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, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/47 "2023-05-15T18:28:31Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > We probably got from grasses to wheat somewhat by accident. Harvest the largest kernels, because that’s where the most reward for time is. Bring some of them back home. Spill some of them, both during harvest and at home. Harvest the largest kernels from the resulting plants, rinse, repeat . . . somebody notices and starts doing it on purpose . . . congratulations (or possibly condolences), you’re a grain farmer. The evolution of domestic wheat is extremely complex and fascinating. Nothing accidental about it. Worth reading up on. We are still learning about it. Generally, plant domestication is not what a naive thinker would imagine. People spent many thousands of years _influencing_ plants without “domesticating” them. In hot wet climates it might consist of simply helping desirable plants to grown by eliminating other plants around them. In other climates it might mean controlled burning keeping brush down so grasses and forbs could grow. Agriculture has many downsides, it isn’t an obvious choice where, as in most cases, there were plenty of different foods to be gathered without anything like the labor, and constriction of diet, that agriculture involves. ---
**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, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/48 "2023-05-15T18:30:06Z")
What about [these beans](https://thecatconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5765y-jb3-700x675.jpeg)? As for wheat: > **[Slaves to wheat: How a grain domesticated us](https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/slaves-to-wheat-how-a-grain-domesticated-us-20150718-gifbrk.html)** > > If you examine the success of wheat from an evolutionary perspective, we didn't domesticate it, it domesticated us. Not unlike cats… ---
**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, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/49 "2023-05-15T18:54:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > See also: _[corn](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/corn#Old_English)_. lol. I’m American. “Corn” means maize, and only maize. “Maize” is a fancy word that is never used is casual conversation. “Corns” is a foot problem. “Kernals” or “kernels” can be a description of types of seeds. If I’m talking to someone who comes from elsewhere, I can translate, though. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/50 "2023-05-15T19:05:09Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > What about [these beans](https://thecatconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5765y-jb3-700x675.jpeg)? - If that’s a kitten, would that make it a Beanie Baby? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/51 "2023-05-15T19:28:54Z")
I vaguely recall from High School biology “Wood dicots” and “Herbaceous monocots”. Didn’t some knuckle dragger manage to save enough seeds to eat later, and when they were dried and inedible, decide to soak them? ---
**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, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/52 "2023-05-15T19:38:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > “Kernals” or “kernels” can be a description of types of seeds. Or a military rank. ---
**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, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/53 "2023-05-15T19:39:11Z")
Or a mathematical concept, or… ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/54 "2023-05-15T19:45:12Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The evolution of domestic wheat is extremely complex and fascinating. Nothing accidental about it. Oh, definitely. What I meant was just the beginnings – a great deal of deliberate work was certainly done over thousands of years, with wheat and with many other crops. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > People spent many thousands of years _influencing_ plants without “domesticating” them. In hot wet climates it might consist of simply helping desirable plants to grown by eliminating other plants around them. In other climates it might mean controlled burning keeping brush down so grasses and forbs could grow. Agriculture has many downsides, it isn’t an obvious choice where, as in most cases, there were plenty of different foods to be gathered without anything like the labor, and constriction of diet, that agriculture involves Also true. And there were a lot of mixed systems, in which some crops and/or animals were raised in agricultural fashion but a lot of the diet came from other sources. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/55 "2023-05-15T20:19:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I also think that “hmm, that’s bitter? Let’s try soaking it in water for a while.” was a standard strategy of our ancestors, from at least as early as the invention of cooking. Hunter gatherer groups seem to have preparation methods for tubers and the like where they put stuff into a river - e.g., in a reed basket - and let water soak into and through it for a while, to remove toxins. I’d imagine that this was the discovery process for this general technique. People saw something in a river, tasted it, and it was fine. They found the same plant on land and it tasted bitter. 1+1=2 Once you’ve figured out that letting stuff sit in water for a while causes the bitter to go away, it would be reasonable to try it with any other regularly available, fleshy vegetables in the region. And once you’ve identified that water can soak into something and then leach the bitterness out, I can see people testing out boiling techniques, once pottery and fire cooking becomes common. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/56 "2023-05-15T21:10:38Z")
This must have happened thousands of years before whatever the records suggest. They might not even have been human beans. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/57 "2023-05-15T22:14:44Z")
Jonathan Swift famously said, “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/58 "2023-05-15T22:30:27Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > 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. Let’s define a few terms so we’re clear what we’re all talking about. Fabaceae is the _Family_ of plants known as legumes. All legumes we’re discussing belong to this biological family. Old World legumes - Vicia is a genus under Fabaceae for legumes called vetches and all Old World broad beans and fava beans belong here. - Chickpeas belong to the genus Cier, also under Fabaceae, and these are all Old World. - Peas belong to the genus Pisum, again, under Fabaceae. - Lentils belong under Fabaceae in the genus Lens. As you can see, while Old World legumes are related they are sufficiently different to have different Linean binomial names. New World legumes - Phaseolus is the genus under Fabaceae that all New World beans belong to. If it’s a bean from the Americans it’s in this genus. All New World beans which are are more closely related to each other than they are to Old World beans, and more closely related to each other than all the different genera of Old World beans. “Beans” originally referred to Old World legumes. After the Great Columbian Exchange the name was extended to legumes in the Phaseolus genus. Old World legume species are like cat species - they are different from each other, but only to a limited degree, and within species everything looks pretty much alike so sure, there are different cultivars but the differences are somewhat superficial (think Gregor Mendel and his variations of pea plants. Different colors and textures but all very visibly peas). New World legume species (of which there are few) are like dog breeds - just like dogs are all dogs but come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, proportions, etc. Phaseolus species are mostly _P. vulgaris_ (a few, like Limas, are a separate species) but think of all the different ones - pinto, kidney, black, white, red, etc. They’re all technically different cultivars of the same species. Sort of like how cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, kale, etc. are all _B. oleracea_ > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Forget meat, why would anyone eat anything that comes out of the ocean that doesn’t swim? It’s easy to catch. At least the sorts attached to rocks or trapped in tidepools are easy to catch. Forget thrill of the hunt, our ancestors were after the thrill of having enough to eat. > [@carrps](#): > > What about edamame? Are they beans? > > They seem more like peas. Edamame are immature soybeans. Scientific name _Glycine max,_ also under Fabaceae, so… they legumes but they’re not peas. Peas are _Pisum sativum_ Same family but different genera. If you’re using “bean” as a synonym for “legume” then yeah, they’re beans. If you want to be more scientifically precise, or are talking in a technical sense from the standpoint of a botanist, farmer, or serious gardener no, they’re not. It’s a bit like calling a lot of agricultural produce “vegetables” when technically they’re “fruits” - see “tomato”. Let’s not get bent out of shape over this. Let’s say everything under Fabaceae can be called a “bean” in casual conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/59 "2023-05-15T22:45:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And cooking was discovered before _Homo sapiens_ became _Homo sapiens_. But how long before _boiling_ was invented? Yes it can be done with improvised bushcraft methods but I doubt it was much of a thing before the invention of ceramic pots. ---
**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, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/60 "2023-05-15T22:51:34Z")
Some tribes would have observed hot springs and put things together. Clay pots are as low tech as it gets. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046/61 "2023-05-15T22:58:11Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > But how long before _boiling_ was invented? I doubt the water needs to be boiling. Hot water, but less hot than boiling, for a somewhat longer length of time ought to work fine. Water skins, I’d guess, are probably quite an old invention. Heat the water in whatever you’ve got, including in the skin; add beans; if you’re travelling carry it with you; supper’s probably ready when you stop for the night. If you’re not travelling, easier yet. (This suggestion pulled out of my ass. No time to research it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-figured-out-how-to-cook-beans-the-first-time/984046.md?page=4)