FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
JACK BEAN
Excerpts from Hawkes, Alex D. 1968. A World of Vegetable Cookery. Simon and Schuster, New York.
The Jack Bean (Canavalia ensiformis, of the Legume Family) is a husky shrubby or vining plant, perhaps originally from the West Indies, but long cultivated in the warm parts of both Old and New Worlds.
Also called Sword Bean, Horse Bean, or Chickasaw Lima, it is best known as a forage crop. The broad, heavy seed pods may grow to more than a foot long, burt when they are small and tender they make a most palatable green vegetable at the table. The large white seeds, each with a conspicuous dark "eye," are enjoyed by many people when peeling to remove the rather tough skin. These seeds, or beans, should not be eaten unless thoroughly cooked, preferably in a change or two of water. The fully ripe beans are on occasion roasted and ground to make a sort of coffee substitute.
In Japan, the pods of an allied species (Canavalia obtusifolia) are eaten to rather considerable extent. Those of a white variety are preserved in saltm and those of a dark, almost black, form are eaten boiled with seasonings.