If beans are vegetables, and chocolate comes from cocoa beans, why isn't chocolate considered a vegetable?

Seeds vs Beans

People often confuse different legumes as one and the same. The truth is, inasmuch as the individual members of the legume family are closely related , there are also some differences that are difficult to note at first. Two vegetables often confused with each other are the seeds and the beans.

In simple terms, beans can be considered as seeds but not all seeds are beans. Thus, beans are more specific because they are just a subtype of seeds. The term seed has a more general connotation because it can denote something that can be sown as in the case of potato, corn and sunflower seeds. It is basic to the cycle of life in most plant forms or plant types.

Beans are characterized as being a legume having a much solid stem. Some of the most common specific examples of beans are the haricot, butter, navy, kidney and red beans. With regard to the different subtypes of beans, there is actually a plethora of bean varieties known. The vicia (faba), pisum (pea), lens (lentils), lablab (hyacinth), glycine (soybeans), and erythrina (coral bean) are among the most consumed and most popular beans to date.

In common English usage, beans are not really specifically used to describe only the pure beans. Other plants which are not closely linked to the same legume family are still classified as beans like the castor, coffee, vanilla and cocoa bean. This is because beans have been accepted as a word to signify those that just resemble the look or have the characteristics of the true beans (their bean seeds and pods), although superficially.

Beans are nutritious foods because they are rich in fiber (the blood cholesterol lowering food component). They also have folate and iron. A 3.5 oz bean serving will give you about 80 kcal. The same amount also gives the consumer 10.5 g of carbs, 0.5 g fat and 9.6 g protein.

It is also important to note that not all beans are edible, at least, if uncooked. It is because some bean variations like the kidney beans contain toxins that can only be destroyed by cooking. To eat such, one must bring the beans to boil or cook them moderately for at least 10 minutes.

Although both seeds and beans are part of the legume group, the two vegetables still differ because of the following reasons: