Cowpea is pronounced: jiāng dòu and means: carob bean, ginger bean, banded bean, hanging bean horn.

Cowpeas provide easily digested and absorbed high-quality proteins, a moderate amount of carbohydrates and a variety of vitamins and trace elements to supplement the body's nutrients.

The young pods and grains of cowpea are flavorful and can be eaten in a variety of ways, such as stir-fried, boiled, stewed, mixed and stuffed. Young pods can be fried, can also be mixed, but also can be used for processing pickled, frozen, dried, preserved vegetables, processed into canned food. Dried seeds can also be porridge, rice, sauce, powder.

Cowpea Classification:

There are 3 types of cowpea, namely, common cowpea, rice cowpea and long cowpea.

The common cowpea is the most widely distributed and variegated class in China, accounting for about 80% of the resources, the plants are mostly trailing, the pods are 8-22 cm long, and the seeds are mostly kidney-shaped.

The rice cowpea is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi and other places, the plant is shorter, the pod length is less than 18 centimeters, and the seeds are oval or cylindrical.

Long cowpea is more widely distributed, with twining plants, pods 20-100 centimeters long, and long kidney-shaped seeds.