I recently discovered a trend in food that I didn't even know existed: Heirloom foods. There are a growing number of, well, growers, that focus on small crops of seeds, vegetables, beans, and other foods that are at risk of going "extinct." These are foods that may have once been popular and just fell out of favor, or foods that are unique but never had a large following. In some cases, heirloom foods became 'heirloom' because of the trends and growth in mechanized farming over the last two centuries, and specific types of foods that were cheaper or easier to grow became the norm, while certain varieties stopped being used. For instance, more and more there are seed growers who specialize in seeds for grains or vegetables that are not commonly found, and now any of us can call them up or find them online and order these unique seeds.
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| The beautiful Rio Zape bean |
One company that specializes in heirloom food is
Rancho Gordo, a bean producer based in California. They not only focus on heirloom beans, but beans specifically from The Americas. They have traveled around North and South America, especially Mexico, looking for very special and beautiful beans that they then bring back to California to grow into a large enough crop to share with us.
I couldn't resist these colorful and, if just about everybody who says anything about them is to be believed, extra-tasty beans. They aren't even very expensive. I ordered several varieties, and am already scheming and planning what I will do with them. If you are someone who enjoys beans in any way, I suggest heading over to their website. They have an ever-changing stock of beans for any type of dish you happen to like. Even if you don't want to buy the beans, their
story alone opened my eyes to new things about food. I haven't been this excited about beans in a long time! I'm so excited to get my beans delievered! I will be sure to post an update when I receive them and am able to cook some up.
Happy eating!
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