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We Reveal Nature…

[Product Image] Groundnuts (In Shells or Kernels)

Groundnuts (Arachis Hypogae) are not only an excellent cash crop, but are a very important source of protein and high-grade fat for smallholder farming areas. They grow well on light sandy soils and are an excellent rotation crop with maize and tobacco. Groundnuts are used mainly as edible nuts or for the manufacture of peanut butter.

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Broad Beans

(Vicia faba), One of the most cold-hardy home garden vegetables -- and just about the first seeds to be planted outdoors in a garden -- is the broad, or fava bean. One of the oldest cultivated plants, the broad bean is thought to originate in the Mediterranean region. Broad beans were grown widely in Europe during prehistoric times, and they were well known to the Egyptians and Romans.

When one thinks of beans it's natural to think cold-tender and warmth-loving, since the most commonly grown home garden beans -- snap and runner beans -- are tender perennial South American natives that need a well-warmed soil to germinate properly and abundant amounts of sunlight and warmth to produce well. These aren't planted until May or even early June.

The broad bean presents an entirely different story. Not a true bean at all, it's actually a giant vetch, a cool-season legume like the pea, and the hardiest legume we grow. Depending upon the variety the upright, stout-stemmed plants grow up to five feet (150 cm) tall with dark purple-spotted white flowers followed by pods borne singly or in clusters in the leaf axils.

[Product Image] White Kidney Beans

The white kidney bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) itself originates in Central America, in Mexico and Guatemala. It was taken to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese, who later took it to Africa and other parts of the Old World, with the result that it is now one of the most widely cultivated plants in the world, flouishing in many different climates.

The term "kidney bean" was first applied in 1551, in order to differentiate the oval shaped bean from other common beans. It became popular in European folk medicine at about the same time and developed a variety of different medicinal uses, the most renowned being a cure for otherwise uncurable coughs. But it remained principally a useful foodstuff, particularly as an ingredient in soups and stews. Today the white kidney bean is still utilised in this way, for soups, stews and casseroles, and is also regarded as a good choice for salads due to its delicate flavour and powdery texture. This contrasts strongly with the robust, full-bodied flavour and soft texture of its better-known cousin, the red kidney bean.

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