Instructions: Q. Whats the deal with fava beans? Theres a pod and a shell that you have to get through before you eat them? I tried cooking them until tender and ate it with the brown shell on and it was ok. Also there is an Egyptian dish called

"Foul Mudammes" and it is the color of the shell. So do they use it with the shell in this preparation?

A. The deal with fava beans is that they grow. When theyre young and pretty

(fingernail size and light green), they can be eaten raw (unless theyre very young, the pods cant be eaten at all). In mid life, they are boiled and eaten.

When large and old, they develop tough skins that have to be removed, by blanching them, before you cook them further.

There are actually quite a few species of fava beans grown on the planet - some of which are used as animal feed - and can range from white to pale green, green, brown, and all the way to a dark chestnut brown. The Egyptian dish you mention is based on a local variety of brown favas known as ful medames, which accounts for both the name and color of the dish. In this country, favas are rarely available fresh, but more often canned or dried. They are also called broad beans.

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