Chickpeas, unripe (raw, organic?)

Chickpeas ( Cicer arietinum) are mostly known in their ripe and dried form. However, you can also use the green, unripe chickpeas ( organic?) in the kitchen and prepare them like peas.

Use in the kitchen

Are unripe chickpeas green? The fresh, unripe chickpeas are covered in a light green chickpea pod, each of which contains one or two green beans. The beans have a buttery texture and a mild bean flavor with a slightly sweet, nutty note. Chickpeas change color from green to pale brown as they ripen and dry. You can find out more about ripe chickpeas ( raw or cooked) in the related article.

Although chickpeas are most commonly used in their dried or preserved form, unripe, green chickpeas are slowly but steadily gaining in popularity. How do you prepare chickpeas? You can prepare them with the shell on or peeled. The pods are hard and tasteless. Removing the pods takes some time. Green chickpeas can be boiled, blanched, roasted, fried or grilled. They can be prepared peeled like peas. You can then eat them as they are, seasoned with a little salt andpepper, or mix them into salads or rice dishes (e.g. wild rice). They also taste excellent fried with various vegetables. If you like something a little more exotic, season them with Indian spices (e.g. chili powder, turmeric, garam masala). Green chickpeas are also suitable for making hummus and as an addition to guacamole. With the shell on, you can prepare them like edamame in boiling water and serve them sprinkled with sea salt.

Unripe chickpeas can also be fried with the pods in a cast iron pan (without oil) for about 3 minutes. Serve them as a snack with a little salt.

Raw green chickpeas that are older than three weeks are also suitable for sprouting. ¹³ The sprouting process makes a large part of the indigestible carbohydrates available and increases the vitamin C content. The sprouted chickpeas are excellent in salads. Fried in a little rapeseed oil with cumin, they are also perfect as a topping for all kinds of vegetarian and vegan dishes. Sprouting also reduces the phasin content in chickpeas. If you want to be on the safe side, you can briefly blanch sprouted chickpeas. ⁶

There is no consensus on whether or not you can eat unripe chickpeas raw. Raw ripe chickpeas contain the indigestible toxin phasin, which breaks down when exposed to heat. ⁶ Proponents of eating green chickpeas raw recommend removing them from their shells, seasoning them with a little lemon juice and salt, and enjoying them as a snack. Anyone who decides to eat unripe chickpeas raw should only eat small amounts to be on the safe side.

Vegan recipe for green chickpea hummus

Ingredients: 120 g unripe chickpeas (raw, organic), 3 spring onions, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of basil, 4 tbsp rapeseed oil, 2 tbsp tahini, juice of ½ lemon, some salt and pepper.

Preparation: Put the peeled, unripe chickpeas in a pan of boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the chickpeas under cold water. Wash the basil and parsley and shake dry. Pick off the leaves and chop roughly. Wash the spring onions and cut into large pieces. Put the chickpeas, spring onions, herbs, oil, tahini and lemon juice in a container, puree everything with a hand blender and season with salt and pepper. Let the hummus (vegan) sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with striped vegetables (e.g. carrots, cucumbers, sweet peppers, celery, etc.) and fresh flatbread.

Vegan recipes with chickpeas (unripe) can be found under the note: " Recipes that have the most of this ingredient ".

Purchasing - Storage

In areas outside of the growing regions, such as in Central and Northern Europe, green chickpeas are most likely to be found in Asian grocery stores, fresh or frozen. Supermarkets such as Coop, Migros, Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Hofer, Billa etc. as well as organic supermarkets such as Alnatura, Denn's Biomarkt, etc. rarely stock unripe chickpeas. In southern countries, some grocery stores offer unripe chickpeas and in the Middle East they are often found at markets. Otherwise, you can buy them in online shops. When can you buy fresh chickpeas? They are available from late spring through the summer months. Later in the season, the chickpeas start to dry in their pods and are sold as regular, dry chickpeas.

The availability of unripe chickpeas varies depending on the size of the store, catchment area, etc. If you are interested, click on our recorded food prices for the DA-CH countries (above under the ingredient image). There you will find current prices from various supermarkets and their price development.

Storage tips

Unripe chickpeas (fresh) can be kept in the fridge for three to four days. They can also be frozen. To do this, they should be cooked briefly (blanched) and then placed in an airtight container.

Ingredients - Nutritional values - Calories

The energy content of 100 g of unripe chickpeas is 378 kcal. A large part of this comes from carbohydrates. Unripe chickpeas are also extremely rich in fiber (16 g/100g; 48.8% of the daily requirement) and protein (20 g/100g; 40.9% of the daily requirement). ²

Unripe chickpeas contain a lot of manganese, namely 2 mg/100g (1065% of the daily requirement). Spices such as turmeric (20 mg/100g) or cinnamon (17 mg/100g) contain a similar amount, but we only consume a small amount of them. Wheat germ also has a good value at 13 mg/100g. Even more of this trace element can be found in cloves (60 mg/100g). ²

Unripe chickpeas also contain 557 µg/100g of folate, which covers 279% of the daily requirement. Lentils (479 µg/100g) contain a similar amount. At 625 µg/100g, mung beans contain slightly more folate. ²

Threonine is also abundant in unripe chickpeas. The content of 0.77 g/100g (82% of the daily requirement) is comparable to that of mung beans (0.78 g/100g) and flaxseed (0.77 g/100g). Raw soybeans contain just over twice as much of the amino acid at 1.8 g/100g. ²

The complete ingredients of chickpeas (unripe), the coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in our nutrient tables. In the article Nutrients explained you will get a detailed insight into the topic.

Effects on health

Chickpeas are energy-rich, nutritious and balanced foods. The protein they contain is made up of valuable amino acids, as they also contain the two essential amino acids lysine and threonine.

The legume lowers cholesterol levels, improves the condition of the arteries and thus protects against arteriosclerosis and secondary diseases such as heart attacks. Chickpeas also strengthen the nervous system and prevent constipation due to their high fiber content. ³ Some bioactive compounds contained in chickpeas also have antioxidant properties or work against cancer. ⁴

The unripe or green chickpea has a very good ratio of linoleic acid (LA) to alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) at 1.33:1. The well-known, ripe chickpeas, on the other hand, have a poorer ratio of 26:1.

Like all pulses, unripe chickpeas are gluten-free and therefore suitable for people with gluten intolerance. As chickpeas have a high content of folic acid (folate), they are extremely popular with pregnant women. ³ It should be noted that folate is water-soluble and sensitive to heat and is therefore lost during cooking.

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects

Chickpeas contain phenols and oligosaccharides (eg the triple sugar raffinose), which promote the formation of gas in the intestines. Sensitive people can therefore suffer from flatulence after eating chickpeas. Cooking germinated chickpeas is the most effective method of preventing these complaints. Soaking and cooking (without germination) also reduces these compounds, but to a lesser extent. ⁵

Large amounts of chickpeas can cause an allergy in sensitive people, as legumes contain some allergens. ⁴

As mentioned, raw chickpeas contain indigestible lectins, which include the toxic substance phasin. Since this substance breaks down when cooked, cooked chickpeas are harmless. ⁶

Folk medicine - natural medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM), chickpeas are known for their ability to regulate the function of the spleen and stomach and promote detoxification. Chickpeas are also said to help with diarrhea. ⁷

Ecological footprint - animal welfare

Pulses such as chickpeas, but also beans, soybeans, lentils and peas are considered a healthy plant-based source of protein due to their high protein content and fiber. They have a better environmental impact than milk and meat products. Their ecological footprint is smaller because they require less arable land and water and have fewer _CO2 emissions. It is therefore more environmentally and climate-friendly to eat plant-based proteins than meat and milk products. In addition, many calories are lost during meat and milk production because more plant-based calories have to be fed to the animals than are ultimately produced as animal calories. ^14,15,16

Ideally, when shopping, you should look for regional , organically grown products, as organic farming does not use synthetic pesticides. In conventional farming, on the other hand, large quantities of herbicides (such as glyphosate) are used when growing pulses, and not just to control weeds. Desiccation, a practice to speed up the harvest, involves deliberately killing the crop using herbicides. This causes the plant to dry out and the crop to ripen more quickly. This is used primarily in countries where the growing season is too short, such as Canada, or simply as a time-saving measure. ¹⁷ Accordingly, there may also be an increased concentration of this agent in the end product, particularly in pulses or cereals. ¹⁸ A large proportion of organic chickpeas come from India or the Mediterranean. Pulses are very important in organic farming in crop rotation, as they are legumes and, with the help of soil bacteria, enrich the soil with atmospheric nitrogen, which the subsequent crop needs for growth. ¹¹

The production of 1 kg of chickpeas requires 4177 litres of water. However, this figure does not indicate whether the chickpeas are raw or dried. The water footprint is lower than that of lentils (5874 litres) or dried beans (5053 litres) and is significantly lower than that of the production of 1 kg of meat (15,400 litres). ^15.19

Worldwide occurrence - cultivation

Chickpeas probably originated in the southeast of what is now Turkey and the neighboring part of Syria. ¹² Today, chickpeas are cultivated mainly in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. ⁹ India produces the most chickpeas worldwide. ⁸

Found in the wild

The cultivated form of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) that is predominantly used today, probably originates from Asia Minor and does not occur naturally. Other Cicer species (e.g. Cicer reticulatum) can also be found growing wild in the areas around the Mediterranean. ¹

Cultivation - Harvest

From mid-April, young chickpea plants can be grown indoors and planted outdoors in mid-May. The location should be bright and warm. A greenhouse is ideal, as the optimum temperature is 25 °C and should never be less than 5 °C. The plant does not tolerate frost. The chickpea bush can cope well with dry periods, but not with a lot of moisture. The soil should be loose, sandy and rather low in nutrients. The chickpeas are ready for harvest around 8-12 weeks after sowing. ¹⁰

The unripe chickpeas are harvested while the pods are still green and not ripe. If the pods and seeds are yellow and fully ripe, they are much harder and can no longer be eaten fresh. With the dried method, the entire chickpea bush is harvested after it has wilted. The chickpea pods are then dried further in a well-ventilated, not too humid place until the pods open and the hard seeds can be collected for further processing.

Further information

The chickpea ( Cicer arietinum) belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae) and the subfamily Faboideae. What is the difference between peas and chickpeas? Despite the name, the chickpea is not closely related to the pea ( Pisum sativum).

The chickpea is, after the soybean, the most commonly cultivated legume. There are two types of chickpea in particular: the small-seeded Desi, which is mainly grown in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and the large-seeded Kabuli, which is more well-known worldwide. ⁹

Alternative names

Chickpeas are also called Garbanzo beans, real chickpeas, Roman chickpeas, Venus chickpeas or field peas. The fresh, unripe chickpeas are also called green chickpeas, but these can also be confused with a green variety. Incorrect spellings creep in, such as chick pea, chick pea, chick pea, chick pea, cooking pea, chick pea, chick pea, chick pea, cherry pea, cherry pea, chick pea, chick pea.

In English, the unripe chickpeas are called fresh green chickpeas, fresh garbanzo beans or fresh ceci beans. In Turkey, the chickpeas are called yeşil nohut (yesil nohut) and in Spain, garbanzos.

Other uses

Chickpeas can also be seen in many gardens in southern countries, not only because of the beans, but also because of their white, purple or violet flowers.