Beans, Broad

Sometimes I’m shocked to find out that ingredients I use interchangeably have no real genetic relation to one another. For example, the beans listed in this section: fava, lima, and soy. One time, I wanted to use fresh favas for a dish and couldn’t find them anywhere, not even in the frozen section. Not to be deterred, I used baby lima beans that happened to be right next to where the favas should have been on the store shelf. Everything turned out great, but the next time I wanted to make it, no limas. Where the lima bean tag still lingered, a bag of frozen edamame casually sat. So I kept calm, blanched them, shucked them, and carried on. Thus, the assumption that these wide beans were so alike they deserved their own section in this book stayed firmly imprinted on my mind. Then I come to find out they are a completely different genus and species. And if you actually look into the colloquial naming, hold on to your boots. Broad beans are synonymous with fava beans. Butter beans are limas. As of printing, soy beans have yet to be given a nickname.