What Do Fava Beans Taste Like?

What Do Fava Beans Taste Like?

Fava beans have been around for a long timealmost 10,000 years, to be exact. As one of the oldest cultivated legumes, fava beans are a popular ingredient in many cuisines, including African, South American, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern. While dried fava beans can be found in stores year-round, fresh ones are usually available at farmers' markets during the spring when harvested. If you've heard of the many uses and benefits of fava beans but aren't sure if you'll like the taste, we're here to help. Keep reading to find out what fava beans taste like and the many flavorful foods you can pair them with to create a fantastic-tasting meal.

What Are Fava Beans?

Fava beans are beans harvested from the fava plant. Grown inside of fuzzy green pods, the beans are large, flat, tough and light green. Each bean has a tough outer shell that has to be removed before eating, which makes preparing them a labor-intensive task. Because of this, most of the fava beans sold in stores undergo a blanching process to remove the outer skin before they are packaged.

Fava Beans Taste

Though fava beans boast the traditional meaty taste and texture of most legumes, their flavor is often described as slightly nutty and buttery. The mild flavor of fava beans makes it easy to work them into various recipes ranging from sweet to savory. Some report that fava beans have a slightly bitter taste that quickly disappears when combined with strongly flavored ingredients. When cooked, these beans have a creamy and silky texture that works well in all dishes. Dried fava beans are much milder in flavor and taste, similar to that chickpeas.

Cooking Fava Beans

How you cook fava beans drastically affects their taste. Continue scrolling to learn about the different ways that you can prepare fresh and dried fava beans.

Cooking Fresh Fava Beans

Cooking fresh fava beans requires some preparation work on your end. However, if you don't have time for all the prep work fava beans need, you can snack on raw fava beans and enjoy their nutty flavor. Fresh fava beans that are small and thin are typically more tender and can be sauteed in their pod with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt, and enjoyed. Fava beans that have been thoroughly cooked can be used in many ways. For example, cooked fava beans can be added to a stew, tossed into a salad, or included in a breakfast spreadthe possibilities are endless. fava beans

Cooking Dried Fava Beans

Dried fava beans are much easier to cook than fresh ones. Because the outer shell has already been removed from dried fava beans, they don't require much preparation on your end. To prepare dried fava beans for your favorite recipes, soak them overnight like any other type of dried bean. Once soaked, you can prepare these beans any way you like.

How to Make the Most of a Fava Bean's Flavor

Curious to know how you should prepare this legume to ensure that you're producing the best flavor every time? Here are a few of our favorite ways to prepare fava beans.

Grill Them

If you're cooking with fresh fava beans, we recommend grilling them. Grilling fava beans just enough so the outside pod is charred will produce a tender, light and smoky vegetal flavor that tastes great alongside bread or as a side dish.

Fry Them

Fried fava beans make for an impressive side dish. To fry fava beans to perfection, start by soaking dried fava beans and then boiling them until they're tender. Once tender, fry the beans in anything you like. A few of our favorite ways to fry these beans include olive oil, coconut oil and pork fat. Then, enjoy them as a delicious side or atop a fresh salad. Fava beans dish

Enjoy Them as a Dip

One of the easiest and most flavorful ways to enjoy fava beans is by creating a dip. Start by using dried fava beans that are already blanched and soaking them overnight. Then simmer the beans in a saucepan until they are tender. Next, blend the tender beans in a food processor with flavorful ingredients like olive oil, lemon juice and cumin to create a mouthwatering Fava Bean Dip that can be served alongside vegetables or used as a spread for your next sandwich. If, after reading the information above, it sounds like you'd enjoy the taste of fava beans, then it's time to start cooking. Visit our online recipe book and choose one of our many bean-based recipes. We're confident that whatever you create will turn out delicious. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, have a fun and flavorful day!  
Bob's Red Mill
September 27 2022

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