Pulse rating
1984
Finch, Irene
Pulses, as distinguished from other vegetables, have a higher energy and macronutrient content, but they lack vitamin C unless sprouted. Pulses and cereals have similar nutrient patterns, but the pulses tend to have a little more protein. Unlike the cereals, the pulses do not require extra nitrogenous fertilizer to produce the protein since they employ nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Pulses belong to a single family of plants, the Leguminosae. Not all leguminous plants are called pulses, because some are inedible, as they contain toxins. The small amount of toxin present in the edible plants is destroyed in cooking. The trisaccharide sugars found in some pulses is not removed in cooking, and these sugars are not digested but are fermented in the colon. Classification of the pulses according to chemical attributes or physiological properties is confusing. The author offers a classification which is more useful in nutrition and cookery. The pulses are a relatively cheap, and important source of protein, forming an important way of extending meat supplies. (emc)
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