{"id":2826,"date":"2008-05-19T14:50:31","date_gmt":"2008-05-19T13:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp\/?p=2826"},"modified":"2018-02-20T15:17:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:17:46","slug":"beans-a-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala &#8211; review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"text-element body\"> I was expecting a pamphlet. What is there to say about beans? Well, lots and it\u2019s much more interesting than I had supposed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-4-3 image-review alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/beans.jpg\" alt=\"Beans a history\" width=\"261\" height=\"328\" \/>The author, Ken Albala, already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine.<\/p>\n<p>Raymond Blanc says of this book: \u201cA vividly entertaining history of the humble bean takes the reader on a curious, surprising ad exciting journey across epochs, continents and cultures.\u201d Couldn\u2019t put it better myself!<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t a recipe book although it does have several dozen, mostly historic, recipes, or rather instructions on how to cook all kinds of beans; it\u2019s more a book that tells you everything you would ever need to know about the subject. Ken includes a chapter on \u201cOddballs and Villains\u201d. These are some nasties that are actually poisonous and have been revived, to a small extent, by the Slow Food enthusiasts in Umbria who insist that it is a traditional foodstuff in danger of disappearance!<\/p>\n<p>I had never thought of lupins as beans until I came across them in Madeira a few years ago. I might not have even tried them if I had known that, in their raw state, they can kill you. It takes lots of washing to remove the toxin and some of the bitter taste. I think the ones I had needed a bit more washing!<\/p>\n<p>Mexican Refried Beans are delicious and easy to make. Ken gives us directions for making these. It\u2019s not a recipe but a method. The same goes for Khichri which was the forerunner of the Anglo-Indian Kedgeree. The traditional version was rice, mung beans and spices and was a popular evening meal.<\/p>\n<p>As a kid I loved baked beans. As an adult and a passionate cook I thought that it wasn\u2019t a food I should admit to enjoying. These days I tuck into my beans on toast knowing they are quite good for me, quick, easy and comforting. Beans \u2013 A History persuades me that I am just continuing a long tradition. It\u2019s an informative and amusing book.<\/p>\n<p>Beans \u2013 A History<br \/>\nAuthor: Ken Albala<br \/>\nPublished by: Berg<br \/>\nPrice: \u00a314.99<br \/>\nISBN 978 1 84520 430 3<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Cookbook review by Chrissie Walker \u00a9 2018<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/tag\/ken-albala\/\"><strong>See more books by Ken Albala here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was expecting a pamphlet. What is there to say about beans? Well, lots and it\u2019s much more interesting than I had supposed. The author, Ken Albala, already has a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20957,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22],"tags":[14,765,767,768,649,769],"class_list":["post-2826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-cookbooks","tag-american","tag-beans","tag-beans-a-history","tag-food-history","tag-food-literature","tag-ken-albala"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mostly Food and Cocktails\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/beans.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chrissie Walker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mostlyfood1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mostlyfood1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chrissie Walker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chrissie Walker\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b\"},\"headline\":\"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala &#8211; review\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\"},\"wordCount\":413,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"American\",\"beans\",\"Beans \u2013 A History\",\"food history\",\"food literature\",\"Ken Albala\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Cookbooks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\",\"name\":\"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg\",\"width\":438,\"height\":550},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala &#8211; review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Mostly Food and Cocktails\",\"description\":\"It\u2019s all about delicious food and cocktails, along with spirits, wines, restaurant reviews, hotels, cruises and resorts. Please look elsewhere for negative reviews.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b\",\"name\":\"Chrissie Walker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MFC-logo-ee0077-bl-shadow-cropped.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MFC-logo-ee0077-bl-shadow-cropped.gif\",\"width\":1145,\"height\":571,\"caption\":\"Chrissie Walker\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails","description":"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails","og_description":"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...","og_url":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/","og_site_name":"Mostly Food and Cocktails","article_published_time":"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/beans.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Chrissie Walker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mostlyfood1","twitter_site":"@mostlyfood1","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chrissie Walker","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/"},"author":{"name":"Chrissie Walker","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b"},"headline":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala &#8211; review","datePublished":"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/"},"wordCount":413,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg","keywords":["American","beans","Beans \u2013 A History","food history","food literature","Ken Albala"],"articleSection":["Books","Cookbooks"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/","url":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/","name":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg","datePublished":"2008-05-19T13:50:31+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-20T15:17:46+00:00","description":"Ken Albala already has a good track record for writing food-related books. His others include Eating Right in the Renaissance and The Banquet: Dining in the Great Courts of Late Renaissance Europe. This book, however, concentrates on the food of the poor, food of desperation and famine. Read my review here...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/beans.jpg","width":438,"height":550},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/beans-a-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beans \u2013 A History by Ken Albala &#8211; review"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/","name":"Mostly Food and Cocktails","description":"It\u2019s all about delicious food and cocktails, along with spirits, wines, restaurant reviews, hotels, cruises and resorts. Please look elsewhere for negative reviews.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d16aed8a57c37c1412a0fd0b6b71cc9b","name":"Chrissie Walker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MFC-logo-ee0077-bl-shadow-cropped.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/MFC-logo-ee0077-bl-shadow-cropped.gif","width":1145,"height":571,"caption":"Chrissie Walker"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2826"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9288,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions\/9288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}