Your Favorite Dry Bean

[Martin Mikulcik]

So today i tried a new bean, the "beef bush black resilient bean" originally from carol deppe, and I gotta say, flavor is slightly different from any other bean I've tried. Most similar to other black beans but if you think just right it has like a beef bouillon flavor without the msg. Kinda like seared steak without the meat. Kinda like an ordinary black bean.

I've been getting into dry beans lately and wanted to talk about it, mention my favorites and see what other people like. I know @Meadowlark has been posting about cannelini beans which i must try and cowpeas which are also great.

One of my favorite beans is the six nations cranberry, from the iroquois and it does spectacularly for me, but the deer ate all but a couple plants when they were little this year.

I've been growing a northern adapted lima, and deer don't like it, thankfully

But they do like soybeans which is a real shame because i planted 3 varieties i was quite excited about but i don't think I'll get any

I like adzuki but they don't like Missouri very well

Northern white beans struggle somewhat here, pintos and kidneys do fine but are relatively boring

I'm trying tepary this year first time, so far so good

And I've never eaten a scarlet runner but i will this year, giant beans they are

I like hyacinth bean, but i don't have seed anymore

I've never tried fava beans, but they don't sound worth it, cultivate like peas and i struggle to grow peas with how fast it gets hot, but peas are worth the failure. I have a dry pea called roveja that has the prettiest purple flowers

And that's it for dry beans for me. So go ahead and tell me how you grow the coolest winged bean and other long season tropical beans, rare varieties of mesoamerican beans only found in one island in Scotland and top dollar tajik beans that are only available on the black market in Nepal, if you are a part of our thing, or whatever.

And if you feel so inclined to talk about your blue lake being better than roma or black seeded yard longs, i won't get insulted. You can eat those dry after all too

 

[Meadowlark]

...And if you feel so inclined to talk about your blue lake being better than roma or black seeded yard longs, i won't get insulted. You can eat those dry after all too

I won't talk about Blue Lake being 10 times better than Roma which it is...but I am a gamer when it comes to shelling beans.

I present my top seven shelling beans in order of preference:

Top Ranked Shelling Beans:

• Pintos: The Pinto has been the workhorse bean here for decades. So many uses, so easy to grow and store combines to make it number 1 on my list.
• Bingos: This is a Borlotto-type pole bean prized in Italian cuisine for its rich flavor and attractive appearance. It has big pods and big beans. The dried beans have red streaks and a great taste in soups like minestrone. It is a pole bean, very easy to grow, harvest, and store.
• Cannellini: Cannellini beans are large, creamy white kidney beans with a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a velvety texture They are known for providing dense concentrations of nutrients all good for overall health. They are about the most digestible beans I grow and least gaseous. They are high fiber, high protein, and support blood sugar.
• Navy: Navy beans are high producing, easy to grow, great source of delicious protein and fiber. Nothing fancy, just a great tasting bean.
• Appalachian Heirloom Greasy Bean: I learned about this bean from member @Heirloom Farmer. They have smooth, shiny pods that lack the fuzz typical of modern green beans. Their flavor is often described as nutty, mellow, and rich, with a tender texture when cooked. A great tasting bean.
• Cherokee Trail of Tears: This is a historic pole bean that produces long pods full of shiny black beans. Great flavor and excellent storage. It has a better story, however as provided by AI .“This is considered an ancestral seed. It was originally grown in the North Carolina Smoky Mountains by people of the Cherokee nation, for thousands of years, and traded among other tribes as well. The Trail of Tears (death march), originated in areas of Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee and many thousands of people were marched to the Oklahoma Territory. This horrific event occurred during the winter of 1838-39, and thousands upon thousands perished along the way. The beans were carried in the pockets of these people to start anew in the location they were being removed to. They have been passed down for what is now approaching almost 200 years later. They teach a needed lesson, that must be remembered, (but has been forgotten, from time to time through history) . . . “do not sit idly by and watch bad things happen . . . speak up and speak out, take action.”
• Black Turtle Bean: Black Turtle Beans are very easy to grow, very resilient for Texas conditions, and drought tolerant. They produce a delicious, nutritious bean that can be used in a variety of dishes.

If requested, I can provide past photos I believe of each of these great beans harvested...but running out of steam on this thread.

 

[DiggersJo]

None!

 

[Meadowlark]

One of my favorite beans is the six nations cranberry, from the iroquois and it does spectacularly for me, but the deer ate all but a couple plants when they were little this year.

Oh yes, I grow that one and should have had it on my list...list just getting too long. I love beans.

The six nations cranberry is on the left, bingos in the center, and Cannellini on the right.

 

[Meadowlark]

...I've been growing a northern adapted lima, and deer don't like it, thankfully

I have finally found a lima that works for me...the Alabama lima. Love it!

 

[Meadowlark]

.... So go ahead and tell me how you grow the coolest winged bean and other long season tropical beans, rare varieties of mesoamerican beans only found in one island in Scotland and top dollar tajik beans that are only available on the black market in Nepal, if you are a part of our thing, or whatever.

Ok...here's my exotic bean: The 1500-year-old cave bean.

"The 1500‑year‑old cave bean is an ancient heirloom pole bean whose seeds were discovered in a sealed clay pot in a New Mexico cave and carbon‑dated to roughly 1,500 years old. When replanted, they actually germinated, and today the variety is grown and sold as a living piece of agricultural history"

I have grown them...and frankly they tasted to me like a 1500-year-old bean.

The 1500-year-old beans are the light-colored ones mixed in with Bingos and Cannellini.

 

[Meadowlark]

...I've never tried fava beans, but they don't sound worth it, cultivate like peas and i struggle to grow peas with how fast it gets hot, but peas are worth the failure.

They are not worth it...not worth growing in my opinion.

 

[Meadowlark]

..But they do like soybeans which is a real shame because i planted 3 varieties i was quite excited about but i don't think I'll get any
I

To me, the only reason to grow soybeans is to replenish soil....and I do grow them for that, but I find cow peas far more efficient at soil building using the regrowing technique I have perfected...plus they are delicious.

 

[Meadowlark]

....Northern white beans struggle somewhat here, pintos and kidneys do fine but are relatively boring

@Martin Mikulcik have you tried home grown pintos picked and shelled just before they are completely dry? Slightly green.

This is a bean taste that is nothing like the store-bought junk or the beans that Cowboys carried with them on drives. It is also a bean that has to be frozen or canned...not dry stored.

This pinto cooks in half the time a store-bought dried paste called a bean cooks. I don't see how it could possibly be called boring...but to each their own.