UTILISATION
- Pods—the winged bean’s main use, they can be eaten raw, or sliced and boiled
like haricot (French) beans, and used in soups and curries. They are pale green,
corners tapering into the thin wings. Protein content is about 2%.- Seeds—nutritionally superior to groundnuts (see Introduction); sometimes
roasted and eaten like groundnuts. They are very similar in composition to
soybeans and are more palatable and could be used similarly in high protein
foods, soap and cooking oil. In Indonesia, tempeh and tofu are made from the
mature seeds. The half ripe seeds can be eaten raw, fried or steamed. Flour
made from the grain is suitable as a milk substitute in treating kwashiorkor. - Presscake, after oil extraction, is suitable for both human and animal food.
- Tubers—best eaten when they are about as thick as a thumb, either raw
(peeled) or boiled like potatoes or roasted. They should be air dried for a few
days, then peeled before cooking. To promote tuber development, the flowers
are sometimes pinched off. The tubers are considered to be a delicacy in
Myanmar. Exceptionally high protein content of about 25%. - Foliage—the leaves and flowers can be eaten raw, or steamed and added to
soups and curries. The flowers can be fried in oil, tasting like mushrooms. Both
the stems and leaves make valuable animal food, with a protein content of about
6%. - Green manure and cover crop—very useful for both purposes, especially due
to its efficient Nitrogen fixation. In Myanmar, sugarcane was reported to have
yielded up to 50% more when grown after a winged bean crop.
LIMITATIONS
- Shortage of seed of winged beans, especially of improved varieties with proven
adaptability to different soils, climates and day length. - Need to support the plants for the production of seed or pods. High labour
requirement as a result, and there is also a need to supply stakes and other
support material. - Indeterminate growth habit ie long periods during which the pods and seeds are
maturing. As a result the winged bean is not yet a suitable crop for large scale
commercial planting. For subsistence farmers this is not a problem, in fact it is a
useful quality as food is provided over a period of several months. - The mature, dry seed (grain) must be cooked before eating, though pods and
immature seed can be eaten raw without any ill effects. - There is not enough practical, well researched agronomic information on the
winged bean.
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6-9" long and one inch wide when mature. The pods are square, with the four