National Bean Day

National Bean Day is on January 6th in the United States.

This is a day that celebrates the bean - not the Japanese Setsubun, the Bean Throwing Festival, which is celebrated the day before spring.

Beans come in many different varieties, and the name primarily refers to large plant seeds of the Fabaceae family, which is also known as Leguminosae, and the word "legume" refers to some of the plants and seeds in that family.

There are many tens of thousands of different types of beans, many of which are used for both human and animal food, and beans are one of the longest-cultivated plants. Broad beans, which are also known as fava beans, have been grown in Thailand since the early seventh millennium BCE. Some of the bean types that are most commonly eaten are the aforementioned broad, or fava, bean, runner beans, lentils, soybeans, red kidney beans and peanuts. Yes, peanuts are another so-called nut which isn't actually a nut; they are instead a type of bean. Another common type is the haricot, or navy, bean, which is the type of bean most commonly used commercially to make baked beans.

Some of the commonly eaten bean types contain a toxin, such as red kidney beans. This toxin needs to be removed by proper preparation and cooking of the beans, or they can be dangerous.

Beans of all types have a range of nutritional properties. They also tend to be a good source of protein; this makes them useful in a vegetarian or vegan diet, which may otherwise lack needed protein.