2023 Little Easy Bean Network - Beans Beyond The Colors Of A Rainbow

[Blue-Jay]

I KNOW that most of the bean conversations are about how they look, but I was wondering--What do all of your experts think are the best TASTING beans?

I get similar questions of what does that bean taste like? Generally they taste like beans and if I could very accurately describe a taste of a bean. The next person might say well it didn't taste like that at all. Taste and what one likes in flavor is very subjective. Perception of flavor and texture can vary quite a bit from person to person. Although I do find at seed swaps I attend some people do react to recommendations from someone who grows a certain vegetable a lot.

When it comes to dry beans I like a lot of them. Most of my dry bean use is a mixture all the time so I'm not really clued into particular flavor or texture on individual varieties. Snap beans I have a couple of favorites that I think have nice bean flavor and texture. Bush bean favorites include, Tendergreen, Topcrop, Provider, Comtesse De Chambord and two of my own originals of Buffy, and Illinois Snap. Pole bean snap favorites are Fasold, Louisiana, Weaver, Leslie Tenderpod, and Logan Giant. If I would take the time to try others I might find more favorites. In the final analysis the best thing to do is try different things yourself and discover what it is that you like.

 

[ducks4you]

Interesting.
I have been wanting to add more beans to our diet and have recently seen recipes for salads with beans and soups with beans.
NOW, for the controversial question-
What is/are your favorite bean(s) for chili?

 

[BeanieQueen]

Does Jewelry Beans still work to get beans to you. The phytosanitary certificate might be to protect every little single sale European seed Co's might get instead of imports.

Last year at least it still worked that way, @Bluejay77 . Your network shipment for this season hasn't arrived yet. I will inform you at once about its arrival.

@Artorius:
Hello fellow sufferer. Since we both are sitting in the same boat: do you happen to have any recent experiences in this issue? Did you successfully ship seeds abroad and resp. did you receive some from overseas? Is Poland also so strictly excluded from overseas shipments?

 

[heirloomgal]

It's from Annapolis Seed! I'm so excited, it is gorgeous!!
Here is their description:

Detective extraordinaire, as per usual!

Isn't it GORGEOUS!

 

[BeanieQueen]

Yes, it's sad @BeanieQueen but nearly all Canadian seed companies have stopped shipping to both the US and Europe. I find that tragic. There were some changes to the US seed customs policy in the last few years which make it impossible to get certain kinds of seeds across anymore, even from Canada - peppers and tomatoes for sure. Thank goodness @Bluejay77 has an import permit for small lots of seeds! And the EU seems to have put a blockade in place as well, so Canadian seed companies are now getting too high a percentage of their seed parcels returned. I can only imagine how frustrating that might be. Maybe you know someone in England that could help you? As far as I know, that is the one place in Europe still free to accept seeds.

Yes, @heirloomgal , I also do have the impression that it has little to do with "phytosanitary" but seems rather a political answer to the import restrictions of the U.S. - and obviously Canada, too.

If the byway 'England' could help (but I know nobody there) I cannot say. I noticed only that practically all big seed vendors from England had stopped offering their seeds in Germany (via Ebay) shortly after the announcement that England would leave the EU. Most of them still didn't come back until now. Some new, smaller seed enterprises emerged, however, and not much more expensive than the previous ones.

 

[meadow]

I KNOW that most of the bean conversations are about how they look, but I was wondering--What do all of your experts think are the best TASTING beans?

From last year the clear winners were Bolita and Gaucho. I did not grow Gaucho; DD purchased some during a Stock Your Pantry event from the farmer that grows some of Carol Deppe's seed for her (so we were able to sample it and it was really good).

Bolita looks very similar to King City Pink (although I've not seen KCP in person, just based on photos) which also has a reputation for being very delicious... and that sent me down a rabbit hole to learn more about KCP's, and in what way do they differ from regular pink beans. Turns out the difference may only be in the growing location/conditions which is very favorable to the growing of pink beans (beans grown there mature earlier, so first to market - which means $$$ for the farmer - and have superior culinary qualities). Not sure yet if the current day KCP's are a separate variety or not, but it did not start out that way... then an improved pink bean was developed in King City by a University of California agronomist working with a King City farmer. The final results (Pink King No. 1) was meant for seed all over California, maybe even all over the country. If that seed was grown in King City, they were called "King City Pinks" and if grown elsewhere just a "pink bean." Which is how it had always been. Don't know how that translates to todays KCP's though.

I bought my Bolita at Siskiyou Seeds. Gaucho is available at Quail Seed and Fedco (directly from Carol/her grower this year). Gaucho is also available at Siskiyou, but this was grown by Alan Adesse unless they have a newer supply than they offered last year.

 

[meadow]

Generally they taste like beans and if I could very accurately describe a taste of a bean. The next person might say well it didn't taste like that at all. Taste and what one likes in flavor is very subjective. Perception of flavor and texture can vary quite a bit from person to person.

Steven Temple (retired UC Davis bean breeder) very graciously wrote to me about his experience with pink beans. I had to laugh when he said this, which fits with what you're describing:

I saw very vigorous “defense” of local bean superiority in “small pinks” than for any other type of dry bean.

Apparently pink beans in California are the subject of passionate debate.

 

[heirloomgal]

Beans are so good for you ducks! They have comprised a large part of my diet since I was 15 years old. The versatility of their use is unlimited. Nearly every day here we have beans in some form - last night black bean porridge cooked with leeks, red peppers and onions over rice, with lots of cilantro and green onion toppings, and a side of guac and tortilla chips and tomatoes. Yummy! Hummus is my go-to afternoon snack with carrot sticks or broccoli. We love chili (with red kidney beans!), bean & vegetable soups, cheesy bean burritos, and cold mixed bean salads with rice vinegar. Lima bean soups pureed with a bit of vinegar, garlic and butter are creamy delicious.

They all taste good! Navy beans are the only one that can have an off taste IMHO without an acidic ingredient like tomatoes. I think what bean for what dish has more to do with the beans size or texture than taste. Personally, I'm very partial to any kind of dried black bean or kidney bean. Cannellini beans are great too.

 

[meadow]

Yeah, @ducks4you, I should clarify that our taste tests are done with plainly cooked beans, only water and nothing else, not even salt.

But I second @heirloomgal, all beans taste good!

 

[BeanieQueen]

Aha! I see one of the speckled ones in there! One of these days I need to replant Ugandan Bantu and make a note of the color and shape of each and every single seed I plant and keep track to see if they can come true, or if it's always a coin toss. Those purple ones are sooo pretty! A fellow on the seed exchange is offering a pole version of Ugandan that is expressing mostly in purple shades (he didn't get his from SSS) so I picked it up from him.

I did so with Ruanda Rainbow last season. I made notes about colour and shape of every bean in the soil to have a control what would come out. (The rainbowy thing nearly vanished, by the way. Even the only pinkish one that was in the sample bag, produced only medium browns like most of the others. @Bluejay77 apparently made a similar experience.)