History

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.

Neil Buttery's new book Knead to Know is an insightful and engrossing history of baking. In this extract he surveys medieval bread from bannuc to the upper crust.

Naked barley is best for food use but modern barley is mostly covered or hulled. 8,000 years ago barley mutated and lost its ability to tightly stick the husk to the grain. Naked barley grain freely sheds its husks when harvested and can be eaten as a wholegrain without processing, with its full flavour and nutrition.

In our work at Hodmedod we celebrate and enjoy pulses every day of the year, but World Pulses Day is an opportunity to step back and consider the wider picture. Pulses really can play a crucial role in mitigating the global challenges of poverty, food security and nutrition, human health, and soil health.

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!

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?"

How do you eat your peas? Whole or soft? Parched or mushy? Black or green? Carlin or marrowfat? (We’re talking proper dried peas here, not those Johnny-come-lately immature fresh “garden pea” imposters*.)

Pea protein is on-trend for 2017. We're delighted that the sustainability benefits of vegetable protein and the naturally high levels in dried peas (rather than fresh or frozen) are being recognised but believe that minimally processed whole peas, split peas and pea flour have most to offer both nutritionally and for their taste and versatility.

Religion, folklore and now Facebook encourage us to give things up for Lent. And if you’ve got a meat-, alcohol-, chocolate- or sugar-shaped hole in your life for the next few weeks, there are centuries of history behind the foodstuff you could fill it with: carlin peas