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Also see Article: Fava Beans, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

FAVA BEAN TRIVIA

The fava bean (Vica faba) also known as faba bean, horse bean and broad bean, was the only bean known in Europe until the discovery of the New World.

The name 'broad bean' refers to the seeds, which are large and flat.

Remains of beans are reported to have been found in Egyptian tombs.

The 6th century B.C. philosopher Pythagoras condemned the fava bean and would not let his followers eat it. It was thought that they contained the souls of the dead.

The cultivation of fava beans is so old that there is no known wild form of this bean.  It has been used in Chinese cooking for at least 5,000 years.

There is a hereditary condition, Favism, which causes an allergic-like reaction to fava or broad beans. Those with this disorder can develop hemolytic anemia by eating the beans, or supposedly even by walking through a field where the plants are flowering.