They are available in brown, red, yellow and green. They thrive in areas where nothing else wants to grow and their culinary biography is eventful. Lentils were used as food in the Neolithic, burial offerings in Egypt, they were viewed in the 1960s as food for common people (lentil soup with other ingredients), and thanks to the French Puy lentil have long been a part of haute cuisine.

The lens-shaped seeds of the pea family (Lens culinaris; fr. lentille) is the most easily digested of the legumes. Among other things, they are a source of valuable magnesium, zinc, iron and calcium. Red lentils are also a source of little carotene. They contain complex carbohydrates that provide the pleasant, long-last satiety familiar from wholemeal products. Lentils are not the giants of the legumes: The petite sugar lentil is usually less than 4.5 mm in diameter, mid-sized lentils are up to 6 mm and are only exceeded by Laird lentils (from 6 mm) and giant lentils (7 mm). Most of the flavouring compounds are found in the skin. This is why small lentils, due to the higher proportion of skin, result in more tasty dishes.

Before cooking lentils (with the exception of the red one whose skins are already removed) should be soaked for a few hours. The soaking time required for each type of lentil is usually written on the package – if in doubt, simply leave them in water overnight. The water used for soaking should be poured off because the compounds causing flatulence, for which this legume is infamous, are collected in it. Brown lentils normally prefer to be cooked for 40 to 60 minutes, Puy lentils are already done after 20 to 40 minutes and red lentils can be removed from the cooker after 10 to 15 minutes. Lentils should always be put on cold. The water used for cooking should contain no salt or else the little legumes will stay hard!

Apart from this, their behaviour in the kitchen is anything but diva-like. Their tendency to discreetly combine with just about any aroma makes lentils the ideal ingredient for a variety of national dishes. In France they are prepared with bacon, parsley, onions and red wine or served as a small salad along with salmon tartar, in Russia seasoned with mace, and Spaniards eat them along with red onions. In the orient they are served cold along with olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. Swabians like to serve them along with Spaetzle and for classic Indian dhal red lentils end up in the pot along with coconut milk, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garlic and chilli. And don’t forget to always add a shot of vinegar!