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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
The power of pulses: 15 easy, delicious ways to eat more life-changing legumes
Worried about rising food prices, your diet's carbon footprint or whether you're eating healthily enough? Believe it or not, there could be a magic bullet: pulses. According to a study by the University of Reading, published in the European Journal of Nutrition in March, adults who eat more pulses – dried beans, peas and lentils – have a higher intake of nutrients including fibre, folate and vitamins C and E; minerals such as iron, zinc and magnesium; and a lower intake of saturated fat and sugar. Similar results have been found in American, Australian and Canadian research. The UK study also found that eating pulses was associated with a more sustainable diet. In her book, Pulse: Modern Recipes with Beans, Peas & Lentils, Eleanor Maidment explains that growing pulses has a positive effect on the environment. 'Many are 'nitrogen fixers', meaning they have the ability to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into a form that can be used in the soil, making it more fertile for other crops,' she writes. Justine Butler, the head of research at Viva!, says: 'The lowest-impact beef still creates six times the greenhouse gases and uses 36 times more land per gram of protein than peas.' Pulses are filling and good value but, say the Reading researchers, the typical British adult eats only about 15g a day, with the average household spending just £1.68 on pulses a week. UK guidelines state that 80g of pulses (about a third of a tin) counts as one of your five a day. The University of Reading study is part of the Raising the Pulse project, which aims to increase pulse consumption to improve public and planetary health. One of its strategies is adding fava bean (dried broad bean) flour to white bread – similar to a successful programme in Denmark using rye flour to increase wholegrain consumption. Prof Julie Lovegrove, the director of the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading, says: 'These foods are not only nutritious but also incredibly versatile, affordable and sustainable.' If you want to start eating more pulses, here are 15 things you need to know. You don't have to cook pulses for hours. 'Don't be put off by the idea that you have to soak dried pulses in advance,' says Maidment. 'I am rarely organised enough to do so, but thankfully there's a huge range of jarred and canned varieties that require no prep and are hugely convenient. If you can afford to spend a bit more, then jarred varieties have the edge over canned in terms of flavour and texture. Brands such as Bold Bean Co, Brindisa or Belazu are consistently excellent.' But batch-cooking dried pulses is the best value. Jenny Chandler, the author of Super Pulses and Pulse, soaks and cooks a big pot of pulses once a week. 'You will finish up with well over double their volume – it's a really economical way to have a ready supply. They will keep in their cooking water for five days in the fridge and you can freeze any leftovers. Use them in salads, soups, purees, curries, stews and even puddings – they will become the bedrock of your cooking.' Pulses are for everyone. 'You do not have to be vegetarian or vegan to enjoy pulses – far from it,' says Maidment. 'We should all be eating more pulses. For instance, in a traybake, I'll use one chicken thigh per person instead of two, and add a can of chickpeas or butter beans. I often add a can of lentils to bolognese. You're still getting filling protein, but with the added benefits of gut-friendly fibre and numerous other minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.' They make meals go much further. 'Most pulses are relatively cheap and quite mild in taste, making them ideal for bulking out soups, stews and curries without affecting the original flavour,' says Maidment. 'You can often use different varieties interchangeably, depending on what you have to hand.' Chandler adds a handful of cooked pulses to all sorts of dishes. 'Throwing a few chickpeas or cannellini beans into a simple tomato sauce with pasta not only ups the nutritional profile, but also keeps you feeling full for much longer,' she says. Baked beans are just the beginning. 'By far the most eaten pulse in the UK is the haricot bean due to its starring role in tinned baked beans,' says Maidment. 'Butter beans, cannellini beans, black beans and kidney beans are also popular, but there is a huge variety of beans to try. For instance, flageolet beans are delicate, pale-green beans popular in French cooking – try them in a slow-braised lamb stew with garlic, thyme and white wine.' Chandler loves yin yang beans, AKA calypso or orca beans. 'These black and white beans are utterly beautiful and taste wonderful in chilli,' she says. But beans on toast still rules. 'My favourite pulse-based dish is garlicky beans and bitter greens on toast, topped with chilli oil,' says Joe Yonan, the author of Cool Beans. You can make (almost) anything with chickpeas. 'The chickpea is my favourite pulse, for its versatility,' says Yonan. 'It is the basis of hummus, the best dip on the planet. It's great in a coronation chickpea sandwich, and it holds its shape in salads and stews.' For a snack, Yonan mixes cooked chickpeas with olive oil and spices (such as za'atar, Chinese five spice, chaat masala or smoked paprika) and roasts them in the oven for an hour at 150C/300F. 'I then turn off the oven but leave them in there to completely cool – it dries them out and makes them really satisfyingly crunchy.' He also uses chickpea (AKA gram) flour to make farinata or socca, a savoury pancake; panisse (chickpea fries); and bhajis and pakoras. 'Sometimes I use it as a base for a sort of non-traditional, don't-tell-the-Italians pizza.' Lentils cook more quickly than most pulses. Red split lentils are especially quick, cooking in about 15 minutes. Lentils don't need soaking, but it does reduce the cooking time. Maidment likes to experiment with different dals. 'Regional Indian dals can be made with a range of lentils – yellow moong, black urad, chana dal – each bringing a slightly different flavour and texture,' says Maidment. But she also has a soft spot for tinned lentils. 'I often roast drained, tinned lentils with olive oil and crushed garlic to boost their flavour and add crispness before throwing them into a salad – perhaps ricotta and prosciutto, or chopped fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.' Pulses make delicious dips. 'Hummus is the classic, but you can blend most pulses into dips,' says Maidment. 'Fava, a fabulous Greek split yellow pea dip, is absolutely worth making.' Blend cooked split yellow peas with caramelised onions and garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and a little of the beans' cooking liquor or water to make. Pulse liquid has many uses. 'Jarred and canned pulses are usually stored in a liquid known as aquafaba,' says Maidment. 'It can be great for adding creaminess to savoury dishes or used as an egg alternative in baking.' She advises checking the salt levels and ingredients list before using – some pulses have added preserving and firming agents. Black beans make the best veggie burgers, says Yonan. The Guardian's Meera Sodha agrees. She mashes a drained tin of black beans with breadcrumbs, garlic and onion powders, chipotle paste, dijon mustard, tomato ketchup and a splash of aquafaba, shapes them into patties, then fries them in olive oil until crispy. British pulses are having a revival. Maidment and Chandler both recommend carlin peas, pleasingly also known as black badgers, which are a heritage British pulse. They are available dried and cooked from companies such as Hodmedod's. 'They're small, nutty brown peas, and make a great alternative to chickpeas, with a similarly impressive nutrient profile,' says Maidment. She roasts cooked carlin peas until crispy, then adds them to salads such as quinoa, broccoli and halloumi. Chandler uses them in dips and curries, and to make a version of refried beans. 'They're much more versatile than yellow or green dried peas as they don't have such a pronounced 'pea' flavour,' she says. In the US, Yonan suggests the lady pea, a spherical white bean that is popular in southern cuisine. Pulses make great protein shakes. 'A handful of cooked pulses added into a smoothie will give it a great creamy texture and make it more nourishing,' says Chandler. She adds black beans or borlotti beans to dark berry smoothies, and chickpeas, cannellini beans or butter beans to green smoothies. Pulse-based pasta is worth a try. There is an increasing range of high-fibre pasta made from pulse flour: peas, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, mung beans … Chandler enjoys this alternative pasta, but says she doesn't use it in classical Italian dishes: 'I may use it in a pasta salad, say, or team it with a blue cheese and walnut sauce.' Yonan agrees that pulse pasta is best paired with 'pungent flavours – super-garlicky or spicy'. Pulses aren't just for savoury dishes. Yonan makes a chocolate and chickpea tart, and adds adzuki beans to brownies. 'Adzuki beans are used in a lot of Asian desserts, such as mochi and ice-cream,' he says. Maidment prefers to use kidney beans in her brownies, while Chandler has a recipe for a simple chocolate and cannellini bean mousse. Drain and retain the liquid from a tin of cannellini beans. Blitz the beans with 150g of melted dark chocolate and an optional tablespoon of cocoa powder. Whisk the liquid for five to 10 minutes, until frothy. Fold into the melted chocolate and bean mix, and sweeten with a couple of tablespoons of maple or date syrup. Chill the mix before eating, perhaps topped with some chopped stem ginger in syrup, or served with fresh raspberries. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Daily Record
‘Deceptively cute' prehistoric whale species with 'slicing teeth' discovered in Australia
The ancient 'baby whale' was the size of a dolphin with eyes the size of tennis balls and lived around 30million years ago. Scientists in Australia have discovered a new species of ancient whale that they are deeming "deceptively cute" due to its huge tennis ball-sized eyes and razor-sharp teeth. The Janjucetus dullardi is nothing like the sea giants we know today, but is one of their earliest-known cousins, living around 30 million years ago. The discovery was made by scientists at Museums Victoria's Research Institute, who examined an ancient 26-million-year-old fossil found on Wadawurrung Country, along Victoria's Surf Coast. The small and ancient creature gives new insight on the early evolution of the baleen whales found in our oceans today. Janjucetus dullardi was a fast, sharp-toothed predator about the size of a dolphin, leading researchers to describe it as a 'baby whale'. With a short snout, large forward-facing eyes and slicing teeth, the prehistoric creature would have been fearsome in the warm, shallow seas of ancient Victoria. Ruairidh Duncan, PhD student at the Museums Victoria Research Institute and Monash University, and lead author of the study said: "It's essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth. "Imagine the shark-like version of a baleen whale – small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless." The fossil examined by the Australian researchers was a partial skull with ear bones and teeth, and was discovered in June 2019 by local resident Ross Dullard as he walked along the beach. Recognising its scientific potential, Dullard donated it to Museums Victoria, who have named the new species after him. "This kind of public discovery and its reporting to the museum is vital," said Dr Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at Museums Victoria Research Institute and senior author of the study. The scientist added: "Ross' discovery has unlocked an entire chapter of whale evolution we've never seen before. It's a reminder that world-changing fossils can be found in your own backyard." The research has been published in the prestigious Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, and it identifies Janjucetus dullardi as a juvenile whale measuring just over two metres long. Despite its small size, it belonged to a group known as mammalodontids, early whales that lived only during the Oligocene Epoch- around 30 to 23 million years ago. According to Fitzgerald, this region of Australia was once a cradle for some of the most unusual whales in history, and their stories are only just beginning to be discovered. And due to the whale's hot prehistoric habitat, scientists may also be able to analyse how ancient whales adapted to warmer oceans millions of years ago. By examining how sea creatures evolved to previously warming oceans, scientists may also discover valuable clues about how today's marine life might respond to climate change, as modern day sea levels rise and waters continue to grow hotter. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Glasgow Times
07-08-2025
- Glasgow Times
Great Barrier Reef records largest annual coral loss in 39 years
But due to increasing coral cover since 2017, the coral deaths – caused mainly by bleaching last year associated with climate change – have left the area of living coral across the famous reef system close to its long-term average, the Australian Institute of Marine Science said in its annual survey. The change underscores a new level of volatility on the Unesco World Heritage Site, the report said. A diver inspects coral at the Great Barrier Reef in far North Queensland, Australia (Australian Institute of Marine Science via AP) Mike Emslie, who heads the tropical marine research agency's long-term monitoring programme, said the live coral cover measured in 2024 was the largest recorded in 39 years of surveys. The losses from such a high base of coral cover had partially cushioned the serious climate impacts on the world's largest reef ecosystem, which covers 344,000 square kilometres (133,000 square miles) off the north-east Australian coast, he said. 'These are substantial impacts and evidence that the increasing frequency of coral bleaching is really starting to have detrimental effects on the Great Barrier Reef,' Mr Emslie said. 'While there's still a lot of coral cover out there, these are record declines that we have seen in any one year of monitoring,' he added. Mr Emslie's agency divides the Great Barrier Reef, which extends 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) along the Queensland state coast, into three similarly sized regions: northern, central and southern. Living coral cover shrank by almost a third in the south in a year, a quarter in the north and by 14% in the central region, the report said. A diverse coral assemblage is seen despite impacts from the 2024 bleaching event at Pompey Reef at the northern Great Barrier Reef in far North Queensland (Australian Institute of Marine Science via AP) Because of record global heat in 2023 and 2024, the world is still going through its biggest – and fourth ever recorded – mass coral bleaching event on record, with heat stress hurting nearly 84% of the world's coral reef area, including the Great Barrier Reef, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's coral reef watch. So far at least 83 countries have been impacted. This bleaching event started in January 2023 and was declared a global crisis in April 2024. It easily eclipsed the previous biggest global coral bleaching event, from 2014 to 2017, when 68.2% had bleaching from heat stress. Large areas around Australia – but not the Great Barrier Reef – hit the maximum or near maximum of bleaching alert status during this latest event. Australia in March this year started aerial surveys of 281 reefs across the Torres Strait and the entire northern Great Barrier Reef and found widespread coral bleaching. Crown-of-thorns starfish at Tern Island on the northern Great Barrier Reef in far North Queensland (Australian Institute of Marine Science via AP) Of the 281 reefs, 78 were more than 30% bleached. Coral has a hard time thriving and at times even surviving in prolonged hot water. It can survive short bursts, but once certain thresholds of weeks and high temperatures are passed, the coral is bleached, which means it turns white because it expels the algae that live in the tissue and give the corals their colours. Bleached corals are not dead, but they are weaker and more vulnerable to disease. Coral reefs often bounce back from these mass global bleaching events, but often they are not as strong as they were before. Coral reefs are considered a 'unique and threatened system' due to climate change and are especially vulnerable to global warming beyond 1.5C since pre-industrial times, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change proclaimed in 2018. Broken hard coral at Lady Musgrave Island following storm damage on the northern Great Barrier Reef (Australian Institute of Marine Science via AP) The world has now warmed 1.3C since pre-industrial times. That report said 'tropical corals may be even more vulnerable to climate change than indicated in assessments made in 2014″. The report said back-to-back big bleaching events at the Great Barrier Reef in the mid-2010s 'suggest that the research community may have underestimated climate risks for coral reefs'. 'Warm water (tropical) coral reefs are projected to reach a very high risk of impact at 1.2C, with most available evidence suggesting that coral-dominated ecosystems will be non-existent at this temperature or higher. At this point, coral abundance will be near zero at many locations,' the report said.
