Legume
Lens culinaris
S tier
Lens culinaris is the cultivated lentil—lens-shaped pulses in brown, green, red, black, and freckled seed coats spanning quick-cooking splits to firm salad holdouts. One of the oldest domesticated legumes, it fixes flavour in soups, dals, and cold salads without the long soaks many beans need. Size classes from petite to large change cook times. Simmer until tender for the type; reds collapse to puree, firm greens keep shape. When a recipe says lentil without colour, check whether mash or discrete seeds are desired.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Lentils were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent among early Neolithic crops.
Lentil cultivation spread across Mediterranean, South Asian, and later global diets.
New World production, especially later Canadian prairies, scaled export lentils.
Global health interest expanded lentil use beyond traditional cuisines.