Here is something to stop for a minute and consider sincerely.
We are living in an era when adults will refuse to eat lentils in lieu of machined formed chicken nuggets made of corn, chicken skin, and mechanically separated meat.
How chicken nuggets are made.
I repeat, we are living in an era when people will choose an amalgamation of refuse over one of the earliest crops ever domesticated by man. I have never read a sacred text that featured a chicken nugget so tasty a man would sell his birthright for it. Yet the humble lentil has had that accolade.
Esau was a hunter of game. Jacob was a farmer. One day Esau returned from the hunt, both unsuccessful and hungry. Jacob had prepared a "mess of pottage" that apparently was incredibly appetizing. Esau asked his brother for a bowl of it and Jacob asked for his birthright in exchange. Esau was the older child and Jacob desired the benefits that came with it. Esau, being quite hungry, acquiesced to his request and exchanged his inheritance for a bowl of stewed lentils.
Scholars debate on whether Esau was tricked or if it was instead a morality tale concerning the dangers of valuing immediate satisfaction more than long-term gain. Either way, Esau wanted a bowl of lentils.
So why is it that people today have largely abandoned this pulse that has fed the world for eight thousand years in favor of foods that have existed for less than eighty?
Cost is certainly no issue. Dried lentils can be purchased for $2 per 1lb bag. They can be purchased in 50lb bags for $35. Even with an extremely conservative estimate of 1000 calories per pound, that is approximately 14.7 calories per cent. That is less expensive than cornmeal or uncooked pasta. As a protein source it can't be beat in cost or nutrition. Peanut butter is more expensive ($0.03 per calorie more, to be fair) and is filled with hydrogenated oils.
Preparation and taste are also no issue. The simplest preparation is to put lentils in a pot with enough water to cover to the first knuckle of your finger and boil. Add salt if you wish. Bam. You have a food that has nourished people who lived in huts. I omit the salt and make it in a $20 rice cooker almost daily and it never ceases to be delicious. As an additional benefit, it is a minimalistic way to sensitize your palate to more subtle flavors than simple sweetness or saltiness.
But this is really the simplest way to make them. A foodstuff that has been around this long tends to have a lot of recipes. That doesn't mean the recipes are any more complex, though. In fact, you can make a delicious lentil soup using only four ingredients. There are also recipes for lentil burgers, lentil chilis, soups, mashes, and a plethora of other ways to prepare this versatile lens. Instead of paying two dollars for a pound of hamburger that will shrink by half after cooking, why not buy a bag of lentils that will double in volume after cooking?
So the question bears repeating, why are people shying away from a food that is healthy, easy to prepare, tasty, and cheap as dirt?
Let's reclaim this humble pulse from the shelves of history and live lives with more health, more wealth, a better palate, and made using ingredients your great grandparents would recognize.
Update: A couple readers wanted some recommended recipes. This red lentil curry is delicious and for those wanting a more complex flavor in your soup, here is an amazing recipe for it. It's a little more work, but totally worth it.
