Garbanzo Bean Flour

[blissful]

Having read about dried legumes and that uncooked legumes can be poisonous but the poison is dissipated upon cooking in boiling water for 10-20 minutes.

My question is which legumes? Are garbanzo beans (chick peas) also dangerous to eat raw? Are they considered a legume?

I noodled around on the internet and couldn't find a good answer. I did find that the cooking of legumes must be in boiling water and cannot be 'toasted' or 'dry heated' to make them safe.

Now garbanzo bean flour is sold, and no mention of this on the package, which leaves me wondering about it. Does anyone know any answers to this? Thanks in advance, Bliss

[CraigC]

Is what you read stating that cooking in boiling water destroys the toxin? I can't imagine that if they are cooked in water that the toxin wouldn't still be present in the cooking liquid, unless it was drained off and the legumes were rinsed.

[blissful]

Eating Raw Or Undercooked Beans Is Dangerous - Wild Oats

Beans contain a compound called lectin. Lectins are glycoproteins that are present in a wide variety of commonly-consumed plant foods. Some are not harmful, but the lectins found in undercooked and raw beans are toxic.

[blissful]

There must be someone here that has some knowledge of legumes and the potential hazards of cooking with them? Am I missing some basic knowledge here?

Garbanzo beans (legumes?) flour, is to my knowledge, uncooked. Is there any hazard with that?

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by blissful

There must be someone here that has some knowledge of legumes and the potential hazards of cooking with them? Am I missing some basic knowledge here?

Garbanzo beans (legumes?) flour, is to my knowledge, uncooked. Is there any hazard with that?

I think the fact that you haven't received an answer shows that you're not missing any common knowledge Eating raw chickpeas or chickpea flour is not very common in the United States, as far as I know.

I found this here http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...dspice&dbid=58

"If purchasing chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour, more generally available in ethnic food stores, make sure that it is made from beans that have been cooked since in their raw form, they contain a substance that is hard to digest and can produce flatulence."

From the same page, yes, chickpeas are legumes. You could call the manufacturer to find out whether the flour is made from raw or cooked chickpeas.

[blissful]

Hey GG, yeah, the package (Bob's Red Mill) doesn't specify if the flour is made from raw or cooked garbanzo beans. I wrote them asking that particular question. I'm sure they'll get right back to me. (as they are a good company from all I hear)

Did you ever notice people making falafels use cooked beans, or sometimes just soaked beans, then the falafels are fried for a fairly short time. This leaves me believing that there isn't a risk in using uncooked garbanzo beans. This is the opposite (almost) of there being a toxic risk.

I still feel like 'I don't know."

[GotGarlic]

I have never watched anybody make falafel

Let me ask you this: Are you going to eat the chickpea flour raw? If you cook whatever you make with it, I would think that would make it safe, if it wasn't made from already cooked beans.

[blissful]

Well the information on toxicity in beans is fixed with 10-20 minutes cooking in boiling water. Dry cooking or heating doesn't do the same thing.

Am I eating it raw, no. But let's say you want to use it in a pancake, is cooking it dry 3 to 4 minutes enough to change it sufficiently? I really don't know.

[blissful]

Here is their reply, and prompt too!

Thanks for contacting us about this. The Garbanzo Beans used in our flour are raw.

If you have any other questions please feel free to reach out.
Thanks and have a wonderful day!
- Whitney
Customer Service
Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by blissful

Well the information on toxicity in beans is fixed with 10-20 minutes cooking in boiling water. Dry cooking or heating doesn't do the same thing.

Am I eating it raw, no. But let's say you want to use it in a pancake, is cooking it dry 3 to 4 minutes enough to change it sufficiently? I really don't know.

I don't know either. Glad you got your answer from Bob's, though.

[Suthseaxa]

As a chemist, I can say that boiling probably degrades the toxins in beans rather than just cooking out into the liquid. I have used the cooking liquor from kidney beans, for example, in sauces and never had any troubles. It's not the lectins that are the problem, it's haemagglutinin. I'll have to research the decomposition temperate, but I recall that they are not good to be cooked from raw in a slow cooker as it does not reach the required temperature.

I also make falafel with raw chickpeas and use chickpea flour often with no side-effects whatsoever. Feel free to use them!

[Mad Cook]

Originally Posted by blissful

Having read about dried legumes and that uncooked legumes can be poisonous but the poison is dissipated upon cooking in boiling water for 10-20 minutes.

My question is which legumes? Are garbanzo beans (chick peas) also dangerous to eat raw? Are they considered a legume?

I noodled around on the internet and couldn't find a good answer. I did find that the cooking of legumes must be in boiling water and cannot be 'toasted' or 'dry heated' to make them safe.

Now garbanzo bean flour is sold, and no mention of this on the package, which leaves me wondering about it. Does anyone know any answers to this? Thanks in advance, Bliss

Chick peas are eaten raw in felafel (if they are made correctly). Never heard anything about them being poisonous unlike red kidney beans & their relatives

[mcrx]

this is why I buy canned beans!

No, I think I have used chickpea FLOUR though. Isn't that Besan powder?? I forget, but I haven't had issue, although I deepfry this. Are falafals deepfried?? No matter, our chemist (forgot the U/N), said it's fine to eat so I'm not worried. (actually, besan might be from gram or dal lentils...idk. I'm still learning too. :D)

but yeah. I eat kidney beans a lot, but always from the can. Should probably learn to do them from scratch though someday!

[Suthseaxa]

Besan is from chickpeas. Also, I knew someone at work who used to make hummus from raw chickpeas, so it's fine :)

[blissful]

I think, after reading as much as I can about legumes, that my statement is an overly broad statement: "Having read about dried legumes and that uncooked legumes can be poisonous but the poison is dissipated upon cooking in boiling water for 10-20 minutes."

Apparently some are deadly toxic, like the red kidney beans, some less toxic, depending on the amount of heat used, boiling, or just simmering (!!! becareful), and for what length of time. Chick peas/garbanzo beans appear to be a legume or pulse but they can be eaten raw or cooked, in moderate amounts.

I cook all my pulses and legumes from dried and have for years. This seems like something that should be taught in middle school or high school home economics classes. I mean, particularly since dried kidney beans, a FOOD, available in any super market, can be prepared badly, with toxic results, and few people realize it.

I looked at the toxin's or anti-nutritional charts of lectins and beans, and often chick peas were left off the chart. Suthseaxa also said: "It's not the lectins that are the problem, it's haemagglutinin. " That is even harder to research for information.

I'm going to continue to eat them, and even eat the raw bean flour, a little anyways and not worry about it. Thanks for all the input, that helps.

[GotGarlic]

I'm glad you came to a resolution you're comfortable with.

I'm not sure they teach home economics in schools anymore I know they have culinary education classes in our local high schools, but it's intended to be preparation for a career in cooking, not general education. I think all schools should offer it, along with financial literacy and other such topics, but unfortunately, with budget cuts, there's no money.

[mcrx]

:) I knoooow! what happened to homeec!!?? my father should read this. man he worries me sometimes what he claims to eat or try. i think he gets lucky, but he needs to know.

anyway, good topic though! thanks for the education! :)

[Cooking Goddess]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

...I think all schools should offer it, along with financial literacy and other such topics, but unfortunately, with budget cuts, there's no money.

Don't forget that a lot of time is spent "teaching the test". With so very much time devoted to standards testing, there is no time left for "Life Skills". Students leave book smart and life dumb.

I think both boys and girls should take basic cooking and shop. Nothing wrong with a lady swinging a hammer properly. And no man has ever been killed washing dishes.

[blissful]

In 2011 a man was shot in the arm while washing dishes. Stuff happens.
Deputies: Estates man shot in arm while doing dishes

Alcohol is legal, cigarettes are legal, both come with a warning on their packaging. Kidney beans, no such label. Shouldn't it say something like, "must be cooked at boiling for at least 20 minutes or longer".

I took one bag of bean flour, toasted it in the oven until it started a little browning, just for flavor, not safety. I used a couple tablespoons of it in a grain free cracker and I really liked the stickiness of it, and the crackers stuck together nicely. I'm going to give it a try in gravy as a thickener the next time I'm making gravy for all of us.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by Cooking Goddess

Don't forget that a lot of time is spent "teaching the test". With so very much time devoted to standards testing, there is no time left for "Life Skills". Students leave book smart and life dumb.

Oh, I can never forget that. A large part of DH's job is preparing the especially at-risk kids for, and then evaluating the results of, the tests in the science department. It's not a bad thing to have standards; it only means that all kids learn the same information, rather than allowing teachers to teach their favorite parts of the curriculum. I had a ninth grade history teacher who spent six months just on World War II. It's the politicians who turn reasonable requirements into threats to school accreditation and people's jobs, which naturally increases their stress about getting all the kids to pass.

And it does have to do with budgets. Maintaining a kitchen and shop, plus buying consumable supplies, costs a lot of money.

Originally Posted by Cooking Goddess

I think both boys and girls should take basic cooking and shop. Nothing wrong with a lady swinging a hammer properly. And no man has ever been killed washing dishes.

I do, too, and I did take both when I was in school.