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The chickpea, chick pea, garbanzo bean, ceci bean, bengal gram, chana or channa (Cicer arietinum) is an edible legume (English "pulse") of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The plant is 20 to 50 cm high and has small feathery leaves on both sides of the stem. One seedpod contains two or three peas. The flowers are white- or reddish-blue. Chickpeas need a subtropical or tropical climate and more than 400 mm annual rain. They can be grown in a temperate climate, but yields will be much lower.
Desi vs. kabuli chickpeas There are two types of chickpea: The Desi form is also known as Bengal gram or chana. The Kabuli form is the kind grown e.g. in the Mediterranean today. The desi-type closely resembles those seeds found on archaeological sites and the wild ancestor, so it is probably the earlier form. Desi-type chickpeas are said to have a very low glycemic index making it good for many people with blood sugar problems. Cultivation and uses The chickpea is grown in the Mediterranean, western Asia and India. The wild ancestor of domesticated chickpeas is Cicer reticulatum. As this only grows in southeast Turkey, this is the most likely locus of domestication. Mature chickpeas can be eaten in salads, cooked in stews, ground into a flour called gram flour (also known as besan, and used in Indian cuisine), ground and shaped in balls and fried as falafel, stirred into a batter and baked to make farinata, cooked and ground into a paste called hummus, or roasted, spiced and eaten as a snack (e.g. leblebi). In India, where they are referred to as "chana," chickpeas provide a major source of protein in a predominantly vegetarian culture. Chickpea flour is also used to make "Burmese tofu," a food originating with the Shan people of Burma. Unripe chickpeas are often picked out of the pod and eaten as a raw snack in many parts of India, and the plants are eaten there as a green vegetable in salads. History of cultivation Domesticated chickpeas are first known from the aceramic levels of Jericho (PPNB) and Cayönü in Turkey and the pottery Neolithic in Hacilar, Turkey. They are found in the late Neolithic in Thessaly, at Kastanas, Lerna and Dimini at ca. 3500 BCE. In the southern French cave of L'Abeurador Dept., Aude, wild chickpeas have been found in Mesolithic layers, dated by radiocarbon dating to 6790±90 BCE. By the Bronze Age, they were known in Italy and Greece. In classical Greece, they were called erébinthos, eaten both as a staple and as a dessert, and consumed raw when young. The Romans knew of several varieties, for example venus, ram and punic chickpeas. They were cooked into a broth and roasted as a snack. The Roman gourmet Apicius gives several recipes for chickpeas. Carbonised chickpeas have been found at the Roman legionary fort at Neuss (Novaesium), Germany in layers of the 1st century CE, along with rice. Chickpeas are mentioned in Charlemagne's Capitulare de villis (ca. 800 CE) as cicer italicum, to be grown in each imperial demesne. Albertus Magnus mentions three varieties: red, white, and black. According to Culpeper, "chick-pease or cicers" are less "windy" than peas and more nourishing. Placed under the dominion of Venus, they offered a number of medical uses, including increasing sperm and milk, provoking menstruation and urine, and helping to treat kidney stones. Wild cicers were thought to be especially potent. Chickpeas were grown in some areas of Germany for use as a coffee substitute in the First World War. Etymology The name "chickpea" derives ultimately from the Latin name cicer through the French chiche. The name Cicero is derived from this plant. The word "garbanzo" comes from the Spanish language, an alteration (perhaps influenced by Old Spanish garroba or algarroba) of the Old Spanish arvanço, perhaps from Greek erebinthos. Nutrition Among other things, chickpeas are a good source of zinc, and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and thus are a healthy food source, especially as a source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. They are low in fat, and most of the fat content is monounsaturated. One hundred grams of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only .27 gram is saturated), 7,6 grams of dietary fiber, and 8.9 grams of protein. Toxicity Chickpeas are toxic at very high doses, especially when they are the only source of protein. The symptoms caused involve brain and nerve function similar to ALS, but it is poorly reported, possibly because it occurs almost exclusively in subsistence-level societies during times of starvation. It apparently came to the attention of Western science around 1972. One theory of chickpea toxicity is that the high level of the amino acid glutamate interferes with synaptic activity. If glutamate crosses the brain blood barrier, it allows calcium to enter synaptic spaces causing very dangerous interference with nervous transmission. Medical science today calls the disease by the generic term "chronic neurolathyrism". The disease is apparently slowly progressive, even after cessation of chickpea ingestion, as shown in a study of former WWII labor camp victims who had been fed almost nothing but 400 grams of chickpea (Lathyrus sativus) for several years. At normal dietary doses, no problems have been shown to arise from eating chickpeas, and they remain an extremely healthful food, even when eaten in quantity, as long as other proteinous foods (especially grains or animal products) are also eaten. Trivia Plant Pictures Image:Cicer arietinum HabitusFruitsFlowers BotGardBln0906.jpg|Habitus, Fruits and Flowers Image:Cicer arietinum HabitusFruits BotGardBln0906a.jpg|Habitus and Fruits | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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