Pot Luck Beans of America Selection
Pot Luck Beans of America Selection
Can't choose from the amazing selection...
From £84.40 GBP
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Deep‑toned beans with marbled purple‑brown skins, offering a creamy interior, gentle nuttiness and a rounded, quietly complex flavour. The Heirloom Bean Co sources these Phaseolus beans from Mexican bean and authentic food specialist La Comandanta, working to revitalise traditional Mexican agriculture by preventing the loss of native seeds, as well as ancestral cooking and cultivation processes. |
San Franciscano beans are Mexican heirloom beans with lovely swirled markings that soften to a warm, even tone when cooked. Their taste profile takes in hints of cocoa, grain and soft nuttiness, and their creamy interior holds its shape well. They work in tomato braises, olive‑oil stews, warm salads and simple pots finished with citrus or herbs.
Read about The Heirloom Bean Company's visit to the farm in Hidalgo where these beans are grown...
Working with La Comandanta
The Heirloom Bean Co has forged a new partnership with Mexico City’s La Comandanta, a business working to identify, rescue and promote authentic Mexican foods grown and made by rural producers using traditional farming and culinary methods. Through this partnership The Heirloom Bean Company is now fairly trading heirloom beans grown by smallholder farmers and processed and packed in Mexico.
La Comandanta’s motto Cocina una Revolución ("Cook a Revolution") describes their ethos that eating authentic food is an act of cultural and agricultural resistance to mainstream agrifood corporations. They’re committed to fair and transparent trade, and supporting social and economic development.
A key concern is the seed diversity and agricultural heritage of Mexico, with Bolivia one of two centres of genetic diversity of the Phaseolus bean species. La Comandanta aims to revive traditional Mexican farming and save heirloom varieties from extinction. Many farmers have stopped growing these varieties for lack of access to fair markets and fear of crop failure. To encourage and support them La Comandanta pays a fair price for crops and offers advance loans at the time of sowing.
The Heirloom Bean Co has visited many of the farmers growing beans to understand the challenges they face and pays an additional 15% premium over the farmgate price into a fund to cover the loans in case of any crop failure. As beans fall outside the usual commodities covered by fair trade labelling schemes the Heirloom Bean Co has introduced its own Fairly Traded emblem to communicate their partnership of trading fairly.
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Kitchen Suggestions
They’re excellent simmered with tomatoes, garlic and a splash of wine until the broth turns velvety, or cooked gently with shallots, olive oil and lemon zest for a lighter dish. Try them folded into warm salads with roasted squash or peppers, or stirred through grains with herbs and mustard. They also shine in brothy soups with greens, or served simply with olive oil, black pepper and a touch of vinegar to bring out their quiet cocoa‑nut character.
Cooking these beans
Look over the beans to remove any stray bits, then rinse well. In a heavy pot, gently cook your base vegetables - onion, garlic, celery, carrot - in a little olive oil until fragrant. Add the beans and pour in enough water to cover them by roughly 5 cm. Bring to a strong boil for 10–15 minutes. Lower the heat to maintain a slow, steady simmer, partially covering the pot to keep the temperature even, and cook until the beans are fully tender, usually 1–3 hours. Add salt once the beans begin to soften. A short soak of 2–6 hours will help reduce the total cooking time.
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Ingredients
San Franciscano Beans
Further info
Tasting notes: Delicate, savoury‑leaning flavour with a mild richness
Similar to: Rio Zape, Flor de Mayo, Cranberry
Latin name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Country of origin: Mexico
Sold in resealable 500g bags
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Typical values Per 100g Energy 1411kJ (337kcal) Fat 0.9g of which saturates 0.2g Carbohydrate 62g of which sugars 0.4g Fibre 16g Protein 21g Salt 0.01g
