Produce Briefs...
White Corn
White corn is a sweet corn variety. Its ears are wrapped in tightly layered pale lime green to white husks. One ear of corn can contain up to 400 kernels growing in rows lengthwise.
Cantaloupe Melon
The cantaloupe is defined by two elements: its roughly netted stone and green colored skin and its aromatic orange-coral colored flesh. When perfectly ripe, the flesh is juicy, unctuous and sweet.
Grower
Seasons/Availability
Tongue of Fire shelling beans are available the end of June into August.
Current Facts
When you see the fresh-dried shelling beans at the farmers market in baskets, bins and bags you must wonder, who is hand-shelling all those beans? Well, there is a trick to it, or rather a method. Its called threshing. Once fully mature, the bean pods are placed in a burlap bag and shaken. The brittle pods break and the beans fall loose. No hand shelling required.
Description/Taste
Resembling cranberry shelling beans, Tongue of Fire shelling beans have large, pale green pods with vibrant red streaks. Once shelled, the beans themselves are also strikingly colored, red speckled on a cream background. The color fades in the cooking process. Tongue of Fire beans are large with a nutty, somewhat sweet flavor, with a creamy and substantial texture.
Applications
Heirloom shelling beans' flavors are more bold and require less manipulation than that of a dry non-heirloom bean. Fresh shelling beans require a shorter cooking time than dried beans, typically 30-45 minutes. Tongue of Fire beans may be braised, pureed into soups, chilled and tossed with fresh tomatoes and herbs in a summer salad, or topped with toasted bread crumbs in a gratin.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Farmers, specifically organic farmers, often grow beans in open, and otherwise empty, fields to keep the nitrogen in the soil from leaching out. The entire crop is then turned into the soil at the end of the season, treating the beans as green manure for healthy soil development and revitalization.
Geography/History
The Tongue of Fire bean is an Italian heirloom shelling bean (Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco) originally collected from Tierra del Fuego on the tip of South America.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Tongue of Fire Shelling Beans. One
is easiest, three is harder.
| McGrath Family Farms | Homepage |
Seasons/Availability
Tongue of Fire shelling beans are available the end of June into August.
Current Facts
When you see the fresh-dried shelling beans at the farmers market in baskets, bins and bags you must wonder, who is hand-shelling all those beans? Well, there is a trick to it, or rather a method. Its called threshing. Once fully mature, the bean pods are placed in a burlap bag and shaken. The brittle pods break and the beans fall loose. No hand shelling required.
Description/Taste
Resembling cranberry shelling beans, Tongue of Fire shelling beans have large, pale green pods with vibrant red streaks. Once shelled, the beans themselves are also strikingly colored, red speckled on a cream background. The color fades in the cooking process. Tongue of Fire beans are large with a nutty, somewhat sweet flavor, with a creamy and substantial texture.
Applications
Heirloom shelling beans' flavors are more bold and require less manipulation than that of a dry non-heirloom bean. Fresh shelling beans require a shorter cooking time than dried beans, typically 30-45 minutes. Tongue of Fire beans may be braised, pureed into soups, chilled and tossed with fresh tomatoes and herbs in a summer salad, or topped with toasted bread crumbs in a gratin.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Farmers, specifically organic farmers, often grow beans in open, and otherwise empty, fields to keep the nitrogen in the soil from leaching out. The entire crop is then turned into the soil at the end of the season, treating the beans as green manure for healthy soil development and revitalization.
Geography/History
The Tongue of Fire bean is an Italian heirloom shelling bean (Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco) originally collected from Tierra del Fuego on the tip of South America.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Tongue of Fire Shelling Beans. One
is easiest, three is harder.
