Heirloom Beans

Seattlest loves cooking, and we love discovering new ingredients. From time to time, we'll showcase an ingredient that's caught our eye lately. Sometimes familiar, sometimes unfamiliar, these ingredients are sure to add flavor to your life. Today, we look at Arikara beans, one of many dried heirloom beans grown in Washington.

Earlier this week we were at a Seattle Chefs Collaborative Meet & Greet learning about locally grown heirloom shelling beans. The term heirloom bean is used to describe any type of bean that has been saved and grown for years and is passed down through generations. In order to be saved, all heirloom seed must be open pollinated. Open pollinated plants are varieties that are capable of producing seeds that will produce plants just like the parent. Not all plants are capable of doing this. Breeders cross breed plants with the purpose of creating a plant with the best features of both parents. These are referred to as hybrids. While plants can cross-pollinate in nature, hybrids may not necessarily produce plants with identical qualities.

One of the beans we weren't familiar with is the Arikara bean. Arikaras were named for the Dakota Arikara tribe encountered by Lewis and Clark. These beans were among the significant horticultural "discoveries" of Lewis and Clark, and helped feed and sustain the members of the expedition. Arikara beans were likely first grown in eastern North America by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Locally grown Arikaras are available through Full Circle Farm.

When cooking dried beans it's important to soak them first. Typically the beans are soaked between 8 to 24 hours. In a pinch, beans can be cooked faster by bringing them to a boil, turning off the heat, and allowing them to sit for an hour. Three tablespoons of salt per gallon of soaking water is enough to ensure that the beans will have soft skins. If the beans have failed to soften after hours of cooking, chances are they are old and will never fully soften. With spring officially underway, an increasing amount of vegetables are trickling into the markets. So now is the perfect time to use up those remaining dried beans and make room for fresh garbanzos and favas.