ingredients
What’s a Lentil? A Brief Overview of the World of Edible Seeds.
I was going to write about lentils, because I eat so many of them. But the question I’m most asked is ‘What is a lentil?’ Almost everyone I inflict them on loves them. I started trying to describe them and get in over my head quick. Is it a bean, a pea, a nut, a seed, a grain, and is rice related an any way? So I’m going to try to map out the field.
The source of all evil
Plants
Based on current knowledge, there are around 380,000 different species of plant. We don’t know for sure. There seems to be duplication and mis-identification in the main catalogues. But people are working on it every day. And AI and DNA based systems are speeding things up. We also know there is a larger catalogue of plants we haven’t even looked at.
About 7,000 species of plant have been used for food. Most of today’s food comes from only 30 species. Yet 55% of humanity’s calories come from four staples. Corn provides 19.5%, Rice 16.5%, Wheat at 15%, and tubers such as potatoes cover 5.3% of our calories on a daily basis.
Plants that we know about.
Plants that we have grown.
Most of our food.
Provide over half of human daily nutrition.
Produce
Seeds
Seeds are the plant version of eggs. They have a food reserve and embryo in a shell called a seed coat. Most of our necessary nutrients come from seeds.
Cereals
The top 3 staple foods are cereals. cereals and millets are grass seeds. Psuedocereals look like cereals but are not grass seeds. We consume them the same way.
Legumes
The legume category is beans. They are also called pulses. Beans divide into two categories. Dal that can split and gram that does not.
Nuts
Nuts have botanical and culinary definitions. Plant people use the term nut as a fruit that does not open it’s shell to release a seed. Cooks define nuts as pretty much anything that looks, acts, or tastes like one.
Other
Edible seeds that don’t fit anywhere else are where the fun is. These are things like coffee, chocolate, mustard, and cumin. Also pumpkin and sunflower seeds. They have all kinds of needful nutrients.
Summary
What’s a lentil?
A lentil is any number of edible legumes with a lens shape. They are split or whole and will keep your body performing. Most of the time they make a curried stew and eat them with bread or rice. They also go well in salads.
Edible seeds are the best source of nutrition for people. They provide most flavors. Maintaining a good variety appears to reduce the risk of many diseases. And lead to a longer life.
Blog
More from Ingredients
How Eggs Work in Vegan Baking
Eggs provide structure, they bind ingredients, and sometimes just add flavor. This can make vegan baking especially tricky. There isn’t a general substitution, there’s a list of possibilities.
A Visual Guide to Pumpkin Butchery
Pumpkin is one of very few things i can eat without consequence. I love all winter squash. But pumpkin is the most popular by far. My record is 22 in one year. I didn’t eat all of them, but I did cook them. As usual, the work is in the prep. But a medium sized one can yield 6 cups easily.
How to EAT Ginger.
Ginger has quite a few medicinal uses, both fresh and dried. It’s very nice on the stomach and digestive system. It’s good for the circulation and can boost immune system health.
References
- The Catalogue of Life; 2023-10-16; Plantae; Catalogue of Life; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/P >
- Encyclopedia of Life ; 2018; Plants; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; Viewed on November 18, 2023; < https://eol.org/pages/42430800 >
- International Plant Names Index (IPNI); Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://www.ipni.org/ >
- © Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Tree of Life Explorer; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://treeoflife.kew.org/tree-of-life >
- Wikipedia; 14 November 2023; Seed; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed >
- Wikipedia; 4 October 2023; List of Edible Seeds; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_edible_seeds >
- FAOSTAT; 2023; Crops and livestock products, Visualize Data; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL/visualize >
- Stuart L Pimm, Lucas N Joppa; March 2015; How Many Plant Species are There, Where are They, and at What Rate are They Going Extinct?; Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/files/551290c20cf268a4aaea871d.pdf >
- Amber Pariona; June 7 2019; What Are the World’s Most Important Staple Foods?; WorldAtlas; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/most-important-staple-foods-in-the-world.html >
- Wikipedia; 17 November 2023; Lentil; Wikimedia Foundationm, Inc; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil >
- Manjula Jain; 2023; Dal (Lentils); Manjula’s Kitchen; Viewed on November 21, 2023; < https://www.manjulaskitchen.com/recipes/dal-lentils/ >