The Benefit of Traditional Recipes - Boiled Legumes

Abstract

Introduction For many years, chickpeas (Vigna sinensis) and various types of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) have been staple foods for peoples around the Arabian Gulf. Generally, these legumes are washed to remove any field debris, and then soaked overnight in cold water. Next day, the peas and/or beans often these dishes are a mixture of a number of types of legume are boiled in salted water and, according to Musaiger (1993), sodium bicarbonate may be added to the boiling water to help soften them. The cooked legumes are then cooled, partly drained, and blended with olive oil, lemon juice and mixed spices before serving. The composition of the mixed spices known locally as Ibzar varies from family to family, but can occur naturally in kitchen sinks and similar habitats, usually contains finely-ground black pepper, cumin, coriander and ginger as the important ingredients. The final item is known in some regions as Foul Medammas and, while the moisture content is in the region of 70%, a typical portion (100 g) of the dish provides around 15 16 g carbohydrate, 6.0 g protein, 1.0 g fat and 0.75 g minerals, including 65 70 mg of calcium (Musaiger, 1993). As it is widely consumed across the Gulf Countries for breakfast or supper, it is an important dietary component, but also one that should present no microbial hazard to the consumer. Thus, boiling of the legumes eliminates any vegetative cells of pathogens that might be present and, as the dish is usually consumed shortly after cooking, spore-forming pathogens like Bacillus cereus will have no opportunity to grow and produce toxins. However, times are changing. Younger members of a family may no longer join their parents for supper, but simply 'grab a bite' of something later in the evening. Such a 'snack' could well include a plate of Foul Medammas left over from an earlier meal. If the time between the cooking and consumption of the dish is short, or the Foul Medammas has been rapidly cooled and placed in a refrigerator, then the risk from sporeformers remains low but, if these conditions do not apply, then a traditionally safe food could become a hazard. Just as important as new eating patterns may be changes in the formulation of the dish, for Foul Medammas is now available in cans. This convenience no doubt has its advantages for students or single people living alone, and it is easy to imagine that such a person could warm the product in a microwave oven, eat a portion and leave the remainder for breakfast next morning. However, this proposed scenario leaves one question unanswered is the microbiological security of the canned Foul Medammas the same as that of the traditional home-made product ? In order to answer this question, the two types of Foul Medammas were 'challenged' with a mild pathogen that is widespread in kitchens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is a typical Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rodshaped member of the Pseudomonadaceae and, if ingested in food or water at levels above 1.0 x 10 colony-forming units (cfu) g (or ml) , it can colonise the -1