In article ,
Chris Bacon writes:
|
| By field beans do you mean broad
| beans? I know some beans smell heavenly but don't know which.
|
| They look very much like broad beans, but are grown for fodder (and
| a high-protein source alternative to GM soya). The plants are left
| 'till the pods are black, which IMO gives a very unsightly crop.
| On a hot day, when the flowers are out, and a slight breeze in the
| right direction, there's a really heady smell.

They ARE broad beans! Field beans are just a less highly bred
form, and are smaller, tougher, and with more tannin in the skins.
I think that field beans are essentially the beans that were
a staple in Europe before Phaseolus vulgaris was imported from
the Americas. So, for a true mediaeval flavour, you know what
to grow :-)

I don't know when they separated from "el ful", but my guess is
a few millennia back.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.