The answer is a resounding yes: the nutritional differences between the legumes you make at home and those you buy in a can are insignificant. Therefore, there is no reason to look down on this interesting option that, when necessary, saves us a significant amount of time.
Along with cereals, legumes have always been an important basis on which different societies have built their diet. However, after the so-called ” nutritional transition “, this group of foods was relatively denigrated, associating its consumption with that of the less well-off social classes and those with lower incomes. An approach that is clearly wrong since, from a nutritional point of view – and why not say it, also from a gastronomic one – legumes are a real treasure for health.
In this sense, the solutions provided by food science and technology have been offering us, for some time now, a very simple way for some consumers to overcome, in light of current approaches regarding the lack of time devoted to cooking, some of its main drawbacks. In this way, and thanks to the offer of the so-called second range, you can enjoy all the health benefits offered by this group of foods with a minimum investment of time in the kitchen, which, at the same time, is usually quite affordable in terms of price.
What are legumes?
Our Spanish Food Code (CAE) defines legumes as “dry, clean, healthy seeds separated from the pod, from plants of the legume family, commonly used in the country and which are directly or indirectly suitable for food.” In Western countries, the consumption of white and red beans, lentils, chickpeas, broad beans, peas, and even soybeans is common.
Are canned legumes healthy?
Yes, absolutely. The same characteristics that are identified with legumes in general can be transferred point by point to canned legumes. Ultimately, a can of cooked legumes is nothing more than the same legumes that anyone could make at home, but with that process “outsourced”, that is, someone else has cooked them for you. However, it is convenient to make a series of nuances regarding the choices that can be made at the supermarket.
Raw vs. canned legumes: which are better?
Let’s start from the premise that raw legumes cannot be eaten, as they are highly indigestible. That is the reason why the cooking times applied to them are relatively long. The question that arises, therefore, would be which of the options would be better, those cooked at home or those that we buy already cooked. And the answer is that there are no significant differences as long as we refer to simply cooked products. The fact is that, both in our home and in the supermarkets, legumes can and usually are accompanied by other ingredients. This would be the typical case of Asturian fabada, Madrid stew, Galician pot… just to mention some of the most classic recipes.
In these cases, the final verdict regarding the nutritional suitability of each recipe (whether homemade or commercial) will be largely determined by the rest of the ingredients used, whether those that each person adds at home or those that are incorporated into the purchased product.
Canned cooked legumes versus canned recipes with legumes
It is easy to distinguish them: the first are cooked legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas, etc.) with just a little salt and some necessary antioxidants; and the others are preserved recipes that usually include various ingredients, many of them processed meat (chorizo, bacon, ham…) with plenty of salt, fats or oils in a certain amount. And of course, their nutritional profile has nothing to do with it.
With the first ones, the cooked ones, you can put together various menus with a little bit of grace by making a vegetable stir-fry at home and, above all, use them in the form of various salads to consume the legumes cold. In these cases, pepper, onion, tomato, some spices, hard-boiled egg, and in the case of salads, some type of canned fish, typically tuna, and of course, the usual vinaigrette are usually added.
Should you wash canned legumes?
If you want, yes, for a mere question of taste, but if you don’t want, no. The “governing liquid” that accompanies canned legumes is completely safe, although there are two elements that can arouse suspicion among those consumers who do not know their composition in detail:
The antioxidant EDTA
Some people may be surprised by the presence of something called EDTA or E-385 additive in the ingredients. I admit that doing an internet search for this substance and finding out that the initials correspond to calcium and disodium ethylene-diamino-tetraacetate does not help much to reassure them. In reality, it is an antioxidant that is added to many preserved foods so that, over time, they do not acquire unsightly colours and the product is offered, behind the glass, bright and tasty.
It is important to know that EDTA is not absorbed, therefore it does not accumulate and there is no risk of poisoning from it, at least if we consume foods that contain it rationally. It is also true that it is an “aesthetic” additive and therefore we could do without it.
Saponins
Well, actually what draws our attention as consumers is not the saponins as such (their name does not appear anywhere) but the foam that is generated when they are added when trying to wash any canned legume under running water. The fact is that these saponins (from the Latin “sapo”, soap) are absolutely natural elements in the cooking water of any legume and it is normal that, after putting them under the tap, this absolutely natural foam appears.
The salt
In order to remove some of the added salt, some consumers may prefer to remove the salt from canned legumes. Normally, the amount of salt in basic canned vegetables is not too much (0.8 g of salt per 100 g of product). In fact, in home cooking it is common to add as much or more salt than mentioned.
So, the only logical reason to wash canned legumes before use is the flavour that these preparations can sometimes add with the liquid used in the preparation. But it certainly isn’t a question of food safety.
Main nutritional characteristics of legumes
With hardly any negative aspects, legumes as a whole offer a series of positive characteristics that hardly any other food group can provide.
An inexhaustible source of protein
Legumes provide as much or more protein for the same weight of product as foods of animal origin. In fact, once cooked, legumes provide 15 to 25% of their weight in the form of protein (there are legumes that, when raw, provide up to 35%).
In the context of drawbacks (more forced than real), it must be said that legume proteins are low in methionine, an essential amino acid. This fact should only be a cause for concern in extreme situations (truly extreme, I mean) in which we could not find another food source that provides it. Since, for example, cereal proteins (yes, cereals also provide proteins) contain it. That is, even with a well-planned vegan diet, there would be no protein deficit, neither in quantity nor in quality.
Queens of fiber
If the podium issue regarding protein intake could be in doubt, there is none with regard to fiber: legumes are the food group that provides the most fiber per unit of weight, by far. And this is very important since, if there is one thing that characterizes the Western pattern of food consumption, it is being extremely low in fiber, and hence many of the associated comorbidities. Thus, 100g of legumes, in general, provide 17 to 23 grams of fiber. A real outrage. For example, and to put it in context, 100g of whole wheat bread provides about 5g of fiber and 100g of kiwi or banana, around 3 grams.
A real festival of vitamins and minerals
Beyond the data regarding macronutrients, legumes also stand out for their contribution of micronutrients. In more detail, legumes are a source of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and especially, potassium. In the field of vitamins, those of group B stand out, especially B1, B3, B6, and B9 and, occasionally, vitamin E as in the case of soybeans and chickpeas.