Fava Beans

Read the chapter on the history of beans from Pen Vogler's Stuffed: A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain. Now out in paperback, Stuffed tells the stories of the food and drink at the centre of social upheavals from prehistory to the present.

Adam Alexander's new book The Seed Detective is an inspirational call to deepen our relationship with the vegetables we eat by exploring the cultural wealth of their origins and stories. Every chapter is a fascinating journey of discovery. We're delighted to share Adam's history of fava beans along with some lovely photos of beans growing in his garden. Enjoy!

As COP26 closed without the strong and binding commitments we urgently need, we have to maintain pressure on our leaders and to drive change through our actions as individuals and members of communities and organisations. This is what we’ve aimed to do through Hodmedod.

Fava beans are very close to our hearts at Hodmedod, which we founded in 2012 with the simple aim of getting British-grown fava beans back into British kitchens. Still we're frequently asked, "What are fava beans?", "Aren't they just broad beans?"

Feasting on pulses is something the Hodmedod team are happy to do any day of the week but on January 6th we had two extra reasons to celebrate. As well as an almost belated Christmas lunch, January 6th marked the launch of the UN’s International Year of Pulses with hundreds of people across the world celebrating with a pulse feast.

Israeli archaeologists claim to have dug up the world's oldest fava beans, suggesting that beans may have been the very first farmed crop. Does this mean the paleo diet is old hat and neo(lithic) eating the new thing?

Perhaps surprisingly fava beans have a long association with Christmas and the midwinter festivals that preceded it, including a traditional cake that we think is well worth reviving.

A new report from the Vegan Society makes a strong case against industrial livestock production and in favour of a shift to more plant-based agriculture.

Back in 2012 when we founded Hodmedod it was nigh on impossible to reliably find British-grown pulses in the shops – and the range was tiny. Two years on and we’ve got 16 varieties of dried British peas and beans plus...