| Lentil | |
|---|---|
| Lentils | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Tribe: | Vicieae |
| Genus: | Lens |
| Species: | L. culinaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Lens culinaris Medikus |
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The lentil (Lens culinaris) (International Feed Number, 5-02-506) is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 centimetres (16 in) tall and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each.
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The plant likely originated in India and Pakistan,[1] and lentils have been part of the human diet since the aceramic (pottery nonproducing) Neolithic times, being one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East. Archeological evidence shows they were eaten 13,000 to 9,500 years ago.[2]
Lentil colors range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black.[2] Lentils also vary in size (e.g., Masoor lentils, shown in photos here), and are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split.
Other pulses are sometimes called lentils, but are actually beans or peas, e.g., "black lentils" (urad beans).
The seeds require a cooking time of 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety–shorter for small varieties with the husk removed, such as the common red lentil–and have a distinctive, earthy flavor. Lentils are used throughout South Asia, the Mediterranean regions and West Asia. They are frequently combined with rice, which has a similar cooking time. A lentil and rice dish is referred to in western Asia as mujaddara or mejadra. Rice and lentils are also cooked together in khichdi, a popular dish in the Indian subcontinent (India and Pakistan); a similar dish, kushari, made in Egypt, is considered one of two national dishes. Lentils are used to prepare an inexpensive and nutritious soup all over Europe and North and South America, sometimes combined with some form of chicken or pork.
Dried lentils can also be sprouted by soaking in water for one day and keeping moist for several days, which changes their nutrition profile.
Lentils with husk remain whole with moderate cooking; lentils without husk tend to disintegrate into a thick purée, which leads to quite different dishes.[3]
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 1,477 kJ (353 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 60 g |
| - Sugars | 2 g |
| - Dietary fiber | 31 g |
| Fat | 1 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Water | 10.4 g |
| Thiamine (vit. B1) | 0.87 mg (76%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 479 μg (120%) |
| Calcium | 56 mg (6%) |
| Iron | 7.54 mg (58%) |
| Magnesium | 122 mg (34%) |
| Phosphorus | 451 mg (64%) |
| Potassium | 955 mg (20%) |
| Sodium | 6 mg (0%) |
| Zinc | 4.78 mg (50%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
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With about 30% of their calories from protein, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut, after soybeans and hemp.[4] Proteins include the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, and lentils are an essential source of inexpensive protein in many parts of the world, especially in the West Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which have large vegetarian populations.[5] Lentils are deficient in two essential amino acids, methionine and cysteine.[6] However, sprouted lentils contain sufficient levels of all essential amino acids, including methionine and cysteine.[7]
Lentils also contain dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red (or pink) lentils contain a lower concentration of fiber than green lentils (11% rather than 31%).[8] Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods.[9] Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish.
Lentils also have antinutritional factors, such as trypsin inhibitors and relatively high phytate content. Trypsin is an enzyme involved in digestion, and phytates reduce the bioavailability of dietary minerals.[10] The phytates can be reduced by soaking the lentils in warm water overnight.
Lentils are a good source of iron.[11]
Lentils are relatively tolerant to drought, and are grown throughout the world. FAO reported the world production of lentils for calendar year 2009 was 3.917 million metric tonnes, primarily coming from Canada, India, Turkey and United States.
About a quarter of the worldwide production of lentils is from India, most of which is consumed in the domestic market. Canada is the largest export producer of lentils in the world, and Saskatchewan is the most important producing region in Canada. Statistics Canada estimates that Canadian lentil production for the 2009/10 year is a record 1.5 million metric tonnes.[12]
The Palouse region of eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle, with its commercial center at Pullman, Washington, constitute the most important lentil-producing region in the United States.[13] Montana and North Dakota are also significant lentil growers.[2] National Agricultural Statistics Service reports United States 2007 production at 154.5 thousand metric tonnes.
| Top ten lentil producers – 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Production (tonnes) | Footnote | ||
| Canada | 1,510,200 | |||
| India | 950,000 | |||
| Turkey | 302,181 | |||
| United States | 265,760 | |||
| Australia | 143,000 | |||
| Ethiopia | 123,777 | |||
| China | 120,000 | |||
| Syria | 102,461 | |||
| Iran | 83,985 | |||
| Bangladesh | 60,537 | |||
| World | 3,917,923 | A | ||
| No symbol = official figure, P = official figure, F = FAO estimate, * = Unofficial/semiofficial/mirror data, C = Calculated figure A = Aggregate (may include official, semiofficial or estimates); |
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Current United States production numbers can be found at the NASS database here by selecting the desired items.
Lentils are mentioned many times in the Hebrew Bible, the first time recounting the incident in which Jacob purchases the birthright from Esau with stewed lentils (a "mess of pottage").[14] In Jewish mourning tradition, they are considered as food for mourners, together with boiled eggs, because their round shape symbolizes the life cycle from birth to death.
Lentils were the main ingredient in the diet of ancient Iranians, who consumed lentils daily in the form of a stew poured over rice.
Lentils are also commonly used in Ethiopia in a stew-like dish called kik, or kik wot, one of the dishes people eat with Ethiopia's national food, injera flat bread. Yellow lentils are used to make a nonspicy stew, which is one of the first solid foods Ethiopian women feed their babies.
In Shia narrations, lentils are said to be blessed by seventy Prophets including Jesus and Mohammed.[15]
In Italy, eating lentils on New Year's Eve traditionally symbolizes the hope for a prosperous new year, most likely because of their round, coin-like shape.
In "Cinderella", one of Grimm's Fairy Tales, a task Cinderella's stepmother assigns to Cinderella is fishing lentils out of ash. If she succeeds, she may go to the ball.