February 10 marks International Legume Day. The day is a celebration of legumes and is observed around the world. We would also like to highlight these protein-rich ingredients, which not only make for delicious meals but are also a healthy and climate-friendly addition to the kitchen. Read on below, where we explore lentils, peas, and beans, and present how we work with legumes across Meyers.
“ In the future, we will need to source far more of our protein from plants than we do today.
Claus Meyer
How we go from 3 to 100 grams
According to the climate-based dietary guidelines launched by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, we are recommended to eat at least 100 grams of legumes per day. But the reality is that Danes consume only around 3 grams on average per day. Many of us lack inspiration and simply a broader repertoire of recipes to draw from when adding legumes to the dinner table.
That is why, across Meyers, we have made it a goal to bring Danish-grown legumes back into the fields and onto Danish dinner tables - and a great place to start is with the 30,000 meals we serve daily in our canteens. As a result, split peas, Sirius peas, beluga lentils, chickpeas, and not least Lolland raisins are often in the hands of our chefs.
To mark International Legume Day, we are turning up the focus on protein-rich ingredients throughout the entire week in all our canteens across the country, and we are sharing recipes and handing out bags of legumes to our guests. But legumes are not unfamiliar in our canteen kitchens; in fact, we serve up to seven times more legumes than the average Dane consumes in a single day*across our canteens nationwide.
Unlocking the potential of legumes
Although it may seem unfamiliar to some, legumes are not a new ingredient in Danish cooking. In fact, legumes have been part of the menu in various forms since the Bronze Age! Many different types of legumes thrive in the Danish climate, and before the advent of refrigeration, dried legumes were highly valued for their long shelf life and high protein content.
Over time, they were almost forgotten, and legumes gained a reputation for being somewhat difficult to prepare. And that is a shame! We believe it is time to unlock the potential of legumes as the great, green protein sources they are, and to show how beans, lentils, and peas can easily be part of even busy family meal plans - to the benefit of both the wallet, the climate, and the taste.
If you want to remember protein percentages in foods, here is our rule of thumb:
Meat loses weight during cooking: protein per weight increases from raw to cooked.
For dried legumes, it is the opposite: the protein content is often listed for the dry product, but it is eaten after absorbing 1–2 times its weight in water, so protein per weight decreases from raw to cooked.
If you vary your plant-based protein sources, the plant kingdom can provide all the essential amino acids.
“ Also remember that legumes emit 30 times less CO₂ than beef per kilogram.
To soak or not to soak?
Dried beans and chickpeas contain the protein lectin, which can cause stomach issues ranging from mild to severe, depending on the amount. However, lectin is broken down through proper cooking. It has long been a common belief - and a recommendation from Danish health authorities - that dried beans and chickpeas should be soaked in cold water for at least 8–10 hours, and that the soaking water should be discarded before cooking.
The reality is that you can easily cook your beans and chickpeas without soaking them first. They simply require a longer cooking time and must always be cooked until fully tender. This applies whether you soak them or not, as it is the cooking process that breaks down the lectin.
Cooking without prior soaking does not necessarily affect the eating quality - some would even argue the opposite. You should not discard the cooking water; use the nutrient-rich liquid as a broth and enjoy its rich bean flavor. However, soaking water should always be discarded.
Cook with legumes
Many of us lack inspiration and simply a broader repertoire of recipes to draw from when adding legumes to the dinner table. On the occasion of Legume Day this Friday, February 10, we are making an extra effort to inspire you with more meals where legumes can take center stage in an easy and delicious way.
Did you know, for example, that legumes contain 2–3 times as much protein as grains and have a protein content comparable to meat?
Basic ingredients in a plant-based mince
A truly successful plant-based mince is usually created through the combination of at least 4–5 ingredients - and often twice as many. That is more than in classic meatballs and may sound a bit elaborate, but each ingredient contributes something to both flavor and texture.
The Danish Seed Savers work to preserve heritage varieties
Lollandske Rosiner and its cousin from Lolland, Nakskov Brunært, are the only two varieties in Denmark to have been officially recognized as worthy of preservation by the Danish Plant Variety Board as of January 1, 2023.
The Danish Seed Savers (Frøsamlerne) are responsible for preserving both varieties, and they are also the ones who registered them. This means that the peas can now be sold commercially, not just to hobby growers.
The Seed Savers is an association that works to find and preserve old varieties of vegetables, ornamental plants, houseplants, herbs, agricultural crops, berry plants, berry bushes, and fruit trees - and to help spread them more widely. Members do this by growing, using, and sharing the varieties, and in this way their gardens form a large, decentralized “grassroots gene bank.” Members offer seeds through an internal seed list and sell them at markets and through the association’s webshop. This is how the plants preserved by the Seed Savers reach more gardens.
At the same time, the Seed Savers ensure that their seeds are preserved in the shared Nordic gene bank, NordGen, and they work to improve opportunities for conserving old plant varieties - both in Denmark and in collaboration with seed saver organizations across Europe.
High cultivation value and great flavor
In addition to their Danish cultural heritage, both Lollandske Rosiner and Nakskov Brunært have high cultivation value and are suitable for farming on both small and large scales. They also taste excellent, with a full and delicate pea flavor and good cooking firmness, making them highly suitable for use in the kitchen. These two varieties belong to field peas and also have a higher nutritional content than most other legumes (yellow peas, chickpeas, lentils, brown and white beans). At the same time, these field peas are well adapted to our climate.
In 2021, Meyers entered into a collaboration with organic farmer Susanne Hovmand-Simonsen, who over several years has been working on propagating these peas on Lolland.
Tempeh – the little umami bomb
Legume Day
When we want to reduce the amount of meat on the plate, we need to fill the space with another source of protein that can provide substance, satiety, and great flavor. Legumes themselves are well suited for this, but you can also use more processed forms of beans or lentils, such as tofu or tempeh.
Tempeh is an Indonesian take on a refined soybean product with many of the same uses as tofu. Traditionally, tempeh is also made from soybeans, but from whole, cooked beans that undergo a fermentation process. This makes tempeh a small umami bomb, adding depth and rich flavor to vegetarian meals.
Tempeh can be used in a wide variety of ways - as a patty in a burger, in salads, as an alternative to bacon in an omelet, or in stews - in fact, in any dish that would normally feature fried meat, chicken, or fish.
You can buy tempeh in several different varieties, including smoked.
