The white, candy floss-looking pulp of the inga bean is as flavorful and sweet as its moniker suggests. Raw inga bean pulp really does taste a lot like ice cream, with a hint of cherimoya and warm spice reminiscent of cinnamon. Texturally, inga bean pulp is fresh and juicy with a spongy and delicate feel.

Seeds of the inga bean are edible when cooked and toxic when raw. Prepared inga bean seeds have a similar flavor and texture to lima and garbanzo beans.

This big legume had us at ice cream, but the inga bean (inga edulis) is also known as the monkey tamarind, joaquiniquil, cuaniquil, guama and guaba. Inga bean pods can range in size from about one to nearly seven feet long! Ripe inga bean pods are dark yellow to brown with white pulp surrounding individual black seeds. Pods are similar in shape to other beans, but inga bean pods possess distinctive spines that make them look a little like winged beans.

Inga beans are native to South America, particularly in coastal countries of Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The trees from which the inga beans grow can reach up to nearly 100ft tall and will bloom multiple times throughout the year.