Fresh Future For Garbanzo Beans

 Walla Walla, Washington has long been known for the delicious sweet onions that are grown in the area, but Walla Walla is about more than just onions. Garbanzo beans or chickpeas are also one of the traditional crops grown here, although you don’t often hear about this unassuming legume. But that’s all about to change. The garbanzo bean has become quite popular over the last several years offering up healthy nutrients such as protein, iron, and manganese, plus they’re chock full of fiber. They’re also the most consumed legume in the world. This new found popularity with consumers here has Walla Walla growers harvesting this crop in a whole new way. Generally garbanzo beans are harvested as dried beans; now however to meet consumer demand growers are trying for the first time to harvest these tasty little morsels for the fresh market through a process that cleans, cooks, and fresh freezes them for sale nationwide. Reportedly, this has never been tried any where else in the world before with this particular crop, but greatness has to start somewhere and right here, right now seems to be the garbanzo beans time to shine.