the edible seeds of any legume such as beans, peas, or lentils. The name may be used for either fresh or dried seeds. They have been a major staple food in man's diet since earliest times.
The word derives from the Latin puls, meaning pottage, and came into the English language at the end of the 13th century. It is still commonly used in Britain, although largely supplanted by the word legume, with which it is virtually synonymous; but it is not normally used in N. America.
Drying, the simplest way of preserving all food, is a technique particularly suited to pulses; their protein and fat content remains largely intact, while the flavour, although altered, remains good.
In India, where pulses of all kinds are especially important, a distinction is made between gram, which are whole, unpeeled pulses, and dal, split, skinned pulses. Legume seeds are always double in form and split easily when the skin is rubbed off.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
