Adzuki - a tool for fashion and epatageThe Azuki bean, which is very popular in Japan, was also found and cultivated in Southeast Eurasia. Today it is difficult to say where exactly people first tasted the sweetish taste of the small red-brown seeds of this species, it is only clear that this happened several thousand years before the new era. For the right to be called the birthplace of Azuki, Japan and Nepal are struggling, although at the present time wild-growing related subspecies are found not only in these countries, but also in Korea, in southeastern China and in Taiwan.
The fact that, apart from the Japanese name for beans in China, Korea, Vietnam and even in some states of India, the species has its own historical name, speaks of antiquity and the spread of culture.
With the development of ties between countries, people have increasingly become interested in the lifestyle of other nations, including their culinary tastes.
Azuki beans today are actively grown not only in the Asian region, but also in several African countries, in Madagascar and the Seychelles, where the climate allows you to fully ripen this healthy heat-loving species.
Description of the biological features of the Adzuki bean
Adzuki beans belong to the legume family and, according to the accepted classification, is a member of the Vigna genus. Adzuki or Vigna angular is a grassy annual plant, in a culture that has the appearance of thick bushes, up to 90 cm high. Wild species are often curly forms that, when in contact with the ground, can be easily attached with the help of the roots that form in the nodes.
Basic, reaching a length of 50 cm taproot. On the stems are alternately dense three-lobed leaves with pointed ends. Canky inflorescences of azuki bean, combining from 2 to 20 flowers, are formed on peduncles developing in the axils. The flowers are medium-sized, bisexual, bright yellow in color, and can self-pollinate, but sometimes insects are involved in the formation of the ovary. Mass flowering lasts up to 40 days, and under favorable conditions, plants can re-release flower stalks up to three times and produce additional crops.
Read also: Delicious name of the variety of strawberries - Marshmallow
After pollination, a cylindrical, narrowed to the tip pod is formed from 5 to 13 cm long. The thickness of the bean is only 5-6 mm. If the young ovaries of the adzuki bean are densely omitted, then the mature pods containing 5–14 seeds are almost bare. Cylindrical, rounded bean seeds, for the sake of which the crop is grown, do not exceed 5–8 mm in length, reach 5.5 mm in diameter.
Coloring, which gave the beans one of the names, most often really red, wine-colored, but there are variegated, brown and cream seeds. They retain germination for at least five years, and begin to germinate at a temperature not of 6–10 ° C.
A temperature in the range of 25–34 ° C is necessary for successful growth, flowering and fruiting of the adzuki bean. The growing season is 60–190 days, depending on the variety and climatic conditions of cultivation.
Composition of the bean Adzuki
This type of bean is loved by many Asian people due to the delicate nut aroma of the seeds and their sweetish taste. And what is the composition of the adzuki bean, and what to expect from the dishes prepared from it? It turns out that the exotic species of legumes is quite interesting not only from the botanical, but also from the dietary point. Per 100 grams of mature seeds adzuki accounts for:
- 13.4 grams of moisture;
- 19.9 grams of protein;
- 62.9 grams of carbohydrates;
- 12.7 grams of fiber;
- 0.5 grams of fat.
It is reasonable to note that a product so rich in carbohydrates should have a high energy value. Indeed, the caloric content of red adzuki beans is 329 kcal.
But, besides this, calcium and iron, phosphorus and magnesium, zinc, potassium and other trace elements are present in oval red seeds. In adzuki a lot of vitamin A and thiamine, riboflavin and niacin, vitamin B6 and folic acid. Interesting and amino acid composition of a valuable food product. The concentration of fatty acids in 100 grams of seeds is 113 mg of linoleic 50 mg and oleic acid.
Read also: We prepare for storage dried eggplants
Growing an adzuki bean helps enrich the soil with nitrogen, this crop is recognized as an excellent fodder plant. But what is the use of beans of this kind to a person?
How useful Adzuki beans?
Rich microelement, amino acid and vitamin composition of the adzuki bean could not be overlooked by doctors and all those who try to adhere to the rules of healthy eating. Due to the abundance of active substances in the seeds, dishes from them help:
- to improve the functioning of the heart and blood vessels;
- changes for the better blood composition;
- stimulation of erythrocyte synthesis;
- protection of the body from environmental influences and the development of tumor processes;
- removal of excess fluid from the body, as a result of removing swelling and reducing the load on a number of internal organs;
- effective cleansing of the body from toxins and excess cholesterol;
- improved gastrointestinal motility;
- to quickly saturate the body with the most available and necessary for vital activity substances.
Today, the antitumor and hepatoprotective effects of red bean extracts are being actively studied.
Women in Asian countries, where they know well how the beans are useful, use adzuki to enhance lactation, and seed flour is used in a number of traditional cosmetics, as well as in preparations for skin and hair healing. Azuki is a valuable food product that confirms both the caloric content of red beans and its composition. But when eating carbohydrate-rich dishes from this type of legumes, it is extremely important to know the measure and take into account possible contraindications.
Adzuki - a tool of fashion and outrage
In addition to its nutritional and therapeutic value, azuki beans turned out to be able to inspire the creation of a unique subculture. In 2007, the Japanese artist Takao Sakai began an eccentric-looking project for ordinary people, which eventually became world famous. Photos of Takao, which depicted people with beards from Japan’s traditional adzuki beard, caused smiles and questions from millions of viewers.
Today, the joking project of the Japanese has gone beyond the framework set aside for him, and in the Land of the Rising Sun there are more than one and a half million people who at least once tried on a beard made of caramelized red beans.
Read also: Growing Kale cabbage and its beneficial properties
As Sakai himself admitted, he did not think that his idea would become a fashion trend. But the news media around the world who picked up the news quickly snapped up unusual photos and probably helped the birth of an extravagant fashion.
Azuki Beans in Cooking
As for the direct appointment of beans, the Azuki beans are a traditional component of many dishes in Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. Seeds are actively used in Korea, Malaysia, and now in several countries in Africa.
In this case, the seeds are consumed both in mature and green form. In the West and in Korean cuisine, sprouted grain dishes are popular.
There are many ways to cook red beans, and, like mash, this type of cowpea does not need to be soaked, and seeds can be made ready for 40 minutes after cooking.
Sweet specific taste of boiled seeds determined the main purpose of red beans, actively used in the confectionery business.
A mass of ground boiled seeds is an excellent filling for classic cakes, pancakes and rice balls, so beloved in the East. On the basis of healthy red beans, they even make ice cream; they substitute cocoa and coffee with crushed beans, making a delicious and very nutritious drink.
Azuki Bean takes pride of place among the products used in ritual food served on great events and festivals. An example of this is the Sakura mochi patties consisting of a shell of rice dough and a reddish bean filling. This delicacy is traditionally on the table of the Japanese in the spring, when the holiday of girls is celebrated.
In China, you can taste the sweet bean soup, which, except for adzuki, requires water, a little vanilla and brown sugar. Decorate the dish with seeds of lotus or sesame, as well as candied grains of the most red beans.
Video about bean Adzuki
