Black Bean

The black bean, also called the black turtle bean for its hard shell, is a small, shiny cultivar of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, that originated in the Americas and has since spread worldwide; it is distinct from other beans called black bean and from the Chinese black soybean used to make douchi. It is prominent across Latin America and in Hispanic cooking, appearing in Brazilian feijoada, Cuban Moros y Cristianos, Costa Rican gallo pinto and Venezuelan pabellon criollo, its dense, meaty texture suiting soups, burritos and vegetarian dishes, with black bean soup a Cuban tradition and, in Thailand, the bean used in a dessert with sticky rice. Per 100 grams of boiled, salted beans it provides 132 calories, is 66 percent water, 24 percent carbohydrate and 9 percent protein, and supplies 37 percent of the daily value for folate and 20 percent for thiamine.