Legume
Lupin
Lupin (lupini) is a large pale bean traditionally pickled in brine as a Mediterranean and Latin American snack, and increasingly milled into high-protein, gluten-free flour. Flavour is nutty and slightly bitter unless debittered by soaking. Only sweet or properly prepared varieties are culinary; bitter wild types need thorough processing. Related to other Fabaceae pulses but distinct from common beans.
Also known as: Lupini, Altramuces, Tremoços, Termis, Tarwi
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History
Lupins were cultivated in the Mediterranean and Nile regions as food and soil-improving crops.
Pickled lupini beans became a classic Italian and Iberian bar and feast snack.
Sweet lupin breeding reduced alkaloids and opened feed and later food flour uses.
Lupin flour and protein entered gluten-free and high-protein specialty food markets.