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boiler
New Member

Joined:	19 June 2009
Location:	LYMINGTON, United Kingdom
Posts:	2

I only wandered onto this site as I found the very intiguing question of if a pinto bean is a vegetable. Well :- strictley speaking it is a seed, like peas, corn, and similar "plants", however, I know there will be howls against this, but please remember these items, are cooked, baked, roast or whatever and this changes there title such as if you make a soup with them, or pop tour corn. However I came to tell you about me, well you could say I am over the hill and rolling down the other side, ( this is just to confirm I am over twenty one), a retired plumber heating engineer ( although I boast, I feel I was one of the best) and I now spend time in the garden, and writing on my web pages (NO!! I am not selling anything) http://www.gardeningforyou.com On the other hand if you would like a laugh with me, if you go there go down the list and click on haricot beans, you do not have to read it all, but go to the bottom, where I say this is the fun bit (all comments welcome) boiler.

Nir
Senior Administrator

Joined:	17 January 2006
Location:	Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Posts:	5741

Whilst yes they are seeds (like pumpkin seeds) that is perhaps a unhelpful classification. The USDA database makes the following distinction:

if you harvest and eat them in their immature state, they count as a vegetable.
if you cook them from dry, they count as legumes.
if you sprout them from dry, they count as vegetable.

I didn't understand what your phrase "pop tour corn" means, surely you're not suggesting that dried pinto beans will pop like popcorn??

Aside - on the subject of corn, it sometimes counts as a starchy vegetable, sometimes (if dried) as grain, and sometimes (baby corn) as vegetable. Yet I think it is also considered a 'seed' the way pintos are.

boiler
New Member

Joined:	19 June 2009
Location:	LYMINGTON, United Kingdom
Posts:	2

Nir,

My profound apologies, it should have read "pop Your corn" ie treat it or cook it. Whilst I do agree that they are categorised as vegetables, the oft and sometimes ambiguos statements could refer to some fruits, similarly people think of tomatoes as a vegetable yet it is actually a fruit (please no confusion intended). Just my imagination running wild.