Cranberry Bean

The cranberry bean is a cultivar group of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, grown as bush or climbing plants. Its pods are pale with red streaks, and each holds about five to six large, oval to kidney-shaped seeds that are cream with crimson speckles or marbling. The pattern fades to a uniform pinkish brown during cooking.

The cooked bean is creamy, smooth and chestnut-like in flavour, which holds up well in soups and stews. Cranberry beans are eaten fresh from the pod in late summer, as well as dried. Borlotti is the Italian name, and the beans appear in the market under different names depending on region.

All common beans descend from wild forms in the Americas, with separate domestications in Mesoamerica and the Andes thousands of years ago. The cranberry or borlotti type is thought to be descended from Andean-origin beans that were brought to Europe after 1492.

The English name cranberry bean refers to the red speckling, which is reminiscent of the berry rather than any botanical relation. Borlotti is the plural of the Italian borlotto, whose root is not clearly established. The species name vulgaris means common.

Beans from the Americas reached Europe through Spanish and Portuguese ships in the sixteenth century and were first grown as curiosities in gardens. Within a few generations they replaced older Old World legumes such as broad beans in many dishes. Northern Italy, especially the Veneto and Lombardy, adopted the borlotti bean as a cornerstone of its cooking, in dishes such as pasta e fagioli.

Selection by farmers over centuries produced distinctive local varieties, such as the Lamon bean from the Veneto, which has protected geographic status. In Portugal, Spain, Greece and Turkey, similar speckled beans became regional favourites, and in the United States, cranberry beans are grown by home gardeners and in the Northeast.

The bean has also been important in Colombia and other Latin American countries, where speckled types are popular, and as a heritage seed it is preserved by seed savers. It remains a favourite for its creamy texture and attractive pods.

Cranberry beans are simmered into soups and stews such as Italian pasta e fagioli and minestrone, stewed with tomato and herbs, or dressed as a salad with olive oil, onion and vinegar. Fresh shelled beans cook in about half an hour, while dried ones need soaking and an hour or more of simmering.

They are mashed into dips and spreads, used in Portuguese feijoada-style dishes and in the Greek dish barbounofassoula. In Latin America, they are used in rice and bean dishes. Their creamy texture makes them a good substitute for pinto beans or cannellini.

Cranberry beans are a good source of plant protein, soluble and insoluble fibre, folate, iron and potassium. As with other common beans, regular intake of legumes is associated with improvements in cholesterol and blood sugar control as part of a plant-rich diet.

The fibre and oligosaccharides in beans can cause gas, particularly when intake rises suddenly; soaking, discarding the soak water and cooking well help. Beans are a nutritious staple but not a medical treatment.