Faba beans probably originated in the Near East in late Neolithic times. By the Bronze Age they had spread at least to Northern Italy and have been found in several lakeside dwellings in Switzerland. The earliest findings in Britain date back to the Iron Age at Glastonbury. They were widely cultivated in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

In ancient Egypt they were mostly eaten by the common people. The upper classes considered  them unworthy and, unlike lentils, they have not been found in the tombs or depicted on frescoes.

Faba beans are mentioned several times in ancient Greek Literature, e.g., the Iliad by Homer written in the 8th to 9th century talks of faba beans. The Greeks apparently associated the little black spot on the hilum with death and  although the beans were sometimes offered in sacrifices to Apollo, the  priests were strictly forbidden to eat or even to mention its name.

Pythagoras (a Greek philosopher in the 6th century B.C) refused to walk through fields of faba beans and forbade his disciples to eat them. He is said to have met his death at the hands of the people of Crotonia in Ancient Bratium (Italy). Pursued by them, he came to the edge of a bean field and, rather than set foot in it, was caught and killed. It is probable that he was prone to favism - a disease which is almost entirely confined to genetically susceptible people of Mediterranean origin. Favism occurs when such individuals consume faba beans or inhale the pollen.

Unlike the Egyptians and Greeks, the Romans held the faba bean in much higher esteem. The Elder Pliny in 'Naturalist Historiae' gives faba beans the highest place of honor among legumes. He speaks of 'Lomentum' (bean meal) as being mixed with wheat or millet flour in the baking of bread to make the loaves heavier. It is probable that the Latin word for bread ('panis'; Italian 'pane' or French 'pain') comes from the Greek word for faba bean, 'puanos'.

All the prominent writers on Roman agriculture mention faba beans, e.g., Cato the Censor, Columella and Varro.

Apicius in the 1st century A.D. in his book 'De Re Conquinaria' (the world's oldest surviving cookbook) mentions a number of dishes made from  faba bean - shelled and in the pod, boiled and fried. He gives the recipe for a special purée of bean meal mixed with fish stock (Liquamen), oil and herbs (especially cumin and coriander).

Romans also used faba beans in sacrifices to the goddess Carna.

In the Middle Ages faba beans were consumed throughout Europe and they were the only beans known to Europeans before the discovery of America in 1492.

Faba beans are mentioned in several old herbals, for example Gerard in the 16th century. Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century astrologer/physician, stated that "They are plants of Venus and the distilled water of the flower of garden beans is good to clean the face and skin from spots and wrinkles  ...
Flour of beans and fenugreek mixed with honey, and applied to felons, biles, bruises, or blue marks by blows, or the imposthumes in the kernels of the ears, helpeth them all, and with rose leaves, frankincense, and the white of an egg, being applied to the eyes, helpeth them that are swollen or do water, or have received any blows upon them, if used in wine".

It has often been mentioned in folk-lore. The bean in the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk" may well have been a faba bean. In the fairy tale". The straw, the coal and the bean" by the Brothers Grimm we learn how the bean got her black stripe. She laughed so hard at the antics of the burning coal and straw as they fell into the river that she split her sides laughing. A tailor was passing and sewed her up but ever since then the bean has had a black stripe because the tailor used black thread for the stitching.

There is also an ancient custom of including a whole bean in a special cake baked especially on Twelfth Night (see recipe). The person who receives the piece with the bean in it is proclaimed king for the night.

Faba beans are now cultivated in many temperate regions of the world and at higher elevations in some subtropical areas. They are now popular in many countries of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia and in certain Far Eastern countries, especially China, which now grows almost two-thirds of the world's production of the crop. In Italy there is a 'fava' (faba) season in the spring - people out walking, pick them wild and eat a few raw. They were probably introduced into the New World by the Spanish but have never found great popularity there except in certain Andean countries of Latin America.

Availability and Purchasing Guide

Faba bean seeds are very variable in shape and size from stongly compressed to nearly globular. They can be white, green, yellow, buff, brown, purple, black or mottled. The most common for human consumption are buff or brown. Their botanical name is Vicia faba but they can also be sold as Windsor beans, broadbeans, horse beans, field beans, tick beans, faba beans or pigeon beans.

They are available in a number of forms:
- fresh in pod
- frozen, shelled faba beans
- dried large-seeded faba beans*
- small-seeded faba beans* - the
  Egyptian 'ful mdamas'
- tinned 'ful mdamas' and green faba
  beans

* Both types of dried faba beans can also be sold whole or skinned and split (decorticated)

Nutrition

The dried faba bean contains about 25% protein. The bulk of the seed is made up of carbohydrates (about 50%) and it has less than 2% oil. It also contains calcium and iron. Fresh faba beans are good dietary source of protein and in addition contain the vitamins riboflavin and vitamin C.

Storage

Dried faba beans can be kept almost indefinitely. Frozen (see method), they can be stored for about 1 year. Tinned faba bean last well for up to 5 years as do bottled faba beans (see method). Once podded, fresh faba beans can be stored, covered, for 1-2 days in the fridge.

Basic Preparation

Very young beans are small and tender. Such delicate pods can be cooked and eaten in the pods like a mange tout pea. More mature beans are shelled before cooking. A black line on the bean is a sign of age and toughness and it is better skinned before serving.

To cook fresh faba beans, put them in a little boiling salted water with a little parsley or winter savory, cook until tender: about 8 minutes when young but longer when older. Serve with melted butter and parsley, white sauce, cream, parsley or onion sauce (see recipes). Allow ½ - ¾ lb (200-300 g) per person.

Dried faba beans should be soaked overnight in four times as much cold water as beans. The cooking time depends on the locality in which they were grown and their age. Small faba beans should be tender after boiling in water for 20-30 minutes; large beans take about 10 minutes longer.

To bottle faba beans

1. Choose very young fresh faba beans, pot them, blanch them in boiling water for 5
    minutes, then strain.
2. Pack the beans into bottling jars.
3. Make a brine solution by boiling 1 tbsp. salt to each 1 pint/600 ml water.
4. Pour the boiling brine over beans, leaving 1 inch/2 ½ cm at the top of the jars free of
    the vegetables or liquid.
5. Put lids on the jars, give screw bands a half-turn back to allow for the expansion of
    the glass.
6. Put 1 pint/600 ml boiling water into the pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp. vinegar (so the
    pan does not become discolored).
7. Stand the jars on the trivet in the pressure cooker, making sure they do not touch
    each other or the sides of the pan.
8. Put on the lid and place on a low heat. Heat until all the air is expelled from the
    cooker, then heat for a further 5 minutes.
9. Place the 10-lb weight in position and bring to pressure. Maintain at pressure for 40
    minutes.
10. At the end of the cooking time, move the cooker gently off the heat. Do not touch
    the cooker until the pressure has dropped to room temperature.
11. Remove the jars and tighten the screw bands (if using).
12. Leave undisturb overnight or for 24 hours, then test to see if the jars have sealed.
    To do this, remove the screwband or clip and make absolutely certain the lid is fast
    (remedy any faults and re-sterilize or eat the contents of faulty jars immediately).
13. Replace the clip or screwband loosely; grease the inside of the screwband.
14. Store in a cool dry place.

Always heat bottled faba beans for a minimum of 10 minutes.

To freeze faba beans

Pick faba beans when they are young. Shell or cut them in their pod into 1 inch
(2½-cm) segments. Blanch in boiling water to preserve their color and flavor for 2 minutes (small beans) or 3 (large) minutes. Drain and cool quickly in cold water. Drain well. Pack in polythene bags or polythene containers. Freeze rapidly. Storage time: 12 months. Thawing and cooking: plunge frozen beans into boiling salted water for 5-8 minutes.