Though different labels might cause a debate between butter beans vs. lima beans, they’re actually the same thing!
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Beans are divisive—people love ’em or hate ’em. If you’re part of the group that loves beans and you’ll eat anything from bright green fava beans to hearty black bean recipes, then you probably also love butter beans. Or are they lima beans? Let’s settle the debate between butter beans vs. lima beans and make grocery shopping a little less confusing.
Is there a difference between butter beans and lima beans?
Butter beans are a common moniker for the group of beans known as lima. You might think lima beans are those green monsters from childhood dinners with a bad rap, but lima beans cover a whole range of colors along the beige and pale green spectrum. Scientifically known as Phaseolus lunatus, which literally translates to “moon shaped bean,” their size range includes everything from the diminutive black eyed pole lima to the gigantes.
Lima beans were first recorded in the Americas, both North and South. In fact, lima beans are so ingrained in Peruvian culture, they date back to the 15th century! They can be seen as a motif on local pottery and predate cultivated corn, a mainstay of Peruvian cuisine.
Lima beans are seen historically on most continents, having been grown by Native people in America and brought back to Europe by colonizers in the 16th century. They’re still popular in the American South, where butter beans are part of any reputable succotash. The larger gigantes variation is famous across Greece and Italy in Mediterranean recipes and of course in Peru, too.
What do butter beans and lima beans taste like?
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While butter and lima beans cover a swath of varieties from pole beans to bush beans, and can be speckled or monochrome, they generally share some traits in terms of taste. Their skins tend to become thicker as they get larger, though still remain thin. The interiors are creamy and luxuriously silky, perfect for mashes and blended bean dips. While their taste has been described as vegetal, that might do the variety a disservice. The taste ranges from mildly creamy to slightly herby and they do a wonderful job in adopting the flavors of the dish they’re part of.
How to Cook Butter Beans
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Beans can take on many times their weight in liquid, and in fact, need to, in order to be cooked. When they take on that liquid too quickly, they tend to split and pucker, so overnight soaking is recommended. The overnight soak allows the beans to slowly absorb liquid at their own pace. This will also cut down on cooking time when you are ready to get them on the stove.
If you cook the beans without presoaking, they’ll still turn out delicious, but they may split and will certainly take longer to become tender. People often buy limas in cans, precooked, but using dry beans gives you more of a range in lima variety. You’ll have so many more choices to consider, and you can decide which Mediterranean recipes to add them to.
To soak them, rinse the beans and pick out any with spots or that immediately float. Cover the beans with room temperature water by at least a few inches and then leave them out overnight.
You can use all sorts of recipes for butter beans or lima beans—but the most basic recipe would be to simply simmer them in well-salted water with a splash of olive oil until they are fork tender, which should take 60 to 90 minutes. To make things a little more exciting, cook the beans in citrus and herbs like this lemon garlic lima bean recipe or toss them with canned tomatoes, wine or stock to create more liquid for them to absorb.
Once cooked, they can be marinated in oil, sauteed or blended into a hummus-like dip. Beans take on spices excellently, so use plenty of salt, pepper and fresh or dried spices.
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