Saturday, September 15, 2018

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Roman Supersnacks

   I'm being a little overly dramatic and vague with the title of today's post.  It's ripped off from the tagline of the products I bought--lupini bean snacks, from the Brami company.  Their logo is even an anthropomorphic bean wearing a Roman-style helmet, equipped with a sword and shield.
     Lupini beans (aka lupin beans) are an ancient food for humans.  They've been used since at least 4200 years ago, as they've been depicted, and their remains found, in tombs of the 12th Dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs, and even earlier.  Over in the New World, ancient Peruvians were cultivating them as early as 2700 years ago.  The Incas later utilized lupini extensively, as did the Romans.  Thanks largely to the Roman's influence this food spread throughout the Mediterranean basin area (Southern Europe, Northern Africa, parts of the Middle East).  Lupini are especially popular in Brazil, Greece, Spain, and Portugal.  Also, in what's now the American state of Arizona, the Yavapapi tribe also enjoyed them.
     As usual, the "super" description is probably a marketing exaggeration, a la other so called "superfoods" (See my May 1, 2014 post), but they are undeniably nutritious.  Lupini are very rich in protein and fiber, have only a moderate amount of fat, and are bereft of starch, which is rare for this kind of food.  They also contain the full complement of amino acids, and are more tolerant of cooler growing temperatures than are many crop staples.  Lupini are often pickled, and eaten as snacks, or even as bar food--the equivalent of pretzels and peanuts in the U.S.  Sometimes the beans are ground into flour, and added to wheat flour to add some flavor.
     There is, unfortunately, one major drawback with lupini though--prepared incorrectly they are poisonous, even fatally so.  They contain bitter alkaloids that are extremely toxic.  To be rendered safe, they must be soaked in salty water for several days.  There are traditionally two main varieties, the "bitter" and "sweet" kinds, but both need to be soaked before eating.  Recently an Australian version has been created which is actually free of the alkaloids, with no soaking needed.  But some folks still prefer the traditional, potentially dangerous kinds.  Also, lupini are technically legumes, and are related to peanuts.  So people with peanut allergies may also have adverse reactions to lupini.

1) Brami lupini snacks, sea salt flavor.  Came in a 150 gram (5.3 ounce) resealable pouch.  The beans look like fat, light brown roundish beans.  I tried some with the shell on, some with the shell removed.  (The shell is very soft, and is edible.)  Not much of a taste difference, so I ate most whole, with the shell on. They were okay, but kind of bland.  Rather  "meh" overall.

2) Brami lupini snacks, balsamic vinegar and herb flavor.  Same size bag, and the beans were similar in size and color once again.  These were slightly better than the sea salt kind, as the herbs and vinegar added some zest.  A solid snack, but not awesome or anything.

3) Brami lupini snacks, garlic and herb flavor.  Same package, bean appearance as the other two.  The pick of this litter, for sure.  I like garlic in general, so this makes sense.  Yet again, though, while this snack was good, it wasn't great.

     All in all, then, I thought that lupini beans were decent, but nothing more.  So I would give them a slight recommendation.  With one important caveat.  As with bamboo (see my July 14,  2018 post), make doubly sure that the lupini you're eating were prepared correctly--this is not the type of plant you can just casually grow, harvest, and then eat.  Even a "supersnack" isn't worth dying for!   



 




















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