cooking, sprouting and combinations of these. All led to a significant reduction of the content of flatus-producing sugars, although the most effective was a combination of sprouting and pressure cooking. While most legumes contain one or several enzyme inhibitors and similar antinutritive or toxic factors (Smil, 1997), the content of such substances appears to be low in ricebean. Animal nutrition Ricebean is valuable as a high class fodder which is known to increase milk production in livestock. Herbalism The red type of ricebean is used in traditional Chinese medicine, sometimes in combination with Angelica sinensis (當歸). No information is available regarding any “folk medicine” use in Nepal or India. Cultural significance In South Asia, the idea of a division of foods into hot, cold and neutral is very common. This has an important bearing on dietary choices, as this perception not only promotes a balance between hot and cold food stuffs in daily nutrition, but also encourages or discourages the consumption of various items according to season, and during sickness. An account of the perception of a number of food items in Nepal has been published by Gittelsohn et al. (1997). Their data shows that there is hardly any “scientific” basis for the division into hot and cold foods. For instance, yogurt is cold while goat milk is hot, buffalo meat is cold while fish and chicken is hot, and black gram is cold while red gram (cowpea) is hot. This perception tends to be location-specific, so these findings cannot be generalised all over Nepal (or South Asia!). Their study did not comment on the hot-cold rating of ricebean. In Nepal, ricebean tends to be categorised as a cold food (e.g. in Gulmi, Kailali, Syangja, Dang, Gorkha districts) and it is said to cool people in the summer. However, it is also said to make people warm during the winter. In Ilam District in Eastern Nepal, ricebean is considered hot, and there it is advised that old and sick people should not eat it during the hot season, as it is not easily digested and weak people would get stomach problems from eating it. Another account from Ilam stated that ricebean, although creating some stomach unrest, was milder and more digestible than other pulses, and therefore often served to people who suffer from indigestion. Whether hot or cold, the major share of ricebean is consumed soon after harvest, so the