I had two objectives for going to the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market, organic heirloom beans and polenta, both from Ayers Creek Farm. I knew that organic farmers Anthony and Carol Boutard grew a lot of European heirloom beans, including Tarbais, Borlotto, Bianchetto, Zolfino, and Purgatorio among others - actually, I should say heirloom beans that developed into something special when grown in specific regions in Europe, since most of these beans originated in the New World.
I was there when those little, pale yellow pearls became the Holy Grail of beans almost a decade ago. The small, thin-skinned Zolfino bean get its name from zolfo, the Italian word for sulfur, signifying its pale yellow color. It is one of the most prized heirloom beans in Italy, and just maybe the world round. They are also known as Fagiolo del Cento, the 'bean of 100,' since they were traditionally planted on the 100th day of the year and Burrino, ‘small butter,’ for their consistency when cooked - they melt in the mouth like butter. These beans were traditionally cultivated only in Tuscany between the Arno and Pratomagno, usually 230 to 300 meters above sea level and sometimes up to 600 meters. After the war, Zolfino beans, like many other ‘small’ crops, fell out of cultivation, and were almost lost. Even today few farmers in the regions surrounding Tuscany have ever heard of the bean. We all should be grateful to the few farmers who kept cultivating them, for they are truly amazing - they are now on Slow Food’s Ark of Taste.
My history with Zolfino beans goes back almost a decade. I worked for one of the very few Internet retailers that offered them, straight from Tuscany. They were expensive retailing from $11 to $12 for 500 grams when we first started selling them, but they were worth it - a Salad of Zolfino Beans and Tuna was truly sublime. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and the dramatic drop in the dollar coupled with a significant rise in demand for the beans in Italy doubled the price virtually overnight. I heard rumors a few years later that someone in the Pacific Northwest was growing them in their backyard and that some farmer was also trying to grow them, but nothing ever came of it, so I stopped inquiring. For the last four years or so I assumed the only way to get them was to go to Tuscany. Needless to say I was very excited this past spring when I found out that the Boutards were growing them, and now I’ve got a whole hill of them.
As I gathered bag after bag of Zolfino beans, I noticed the bags of the tiny, Chick Peas of Spello, and I remembered my Umbrian friend Giuseppe Cagnoni telling me about how good they were so I pick some up. They are a specialty of the area around Spello in Umbria just to the south of Assisi. They are just about the tiniest chick peas I’ve ever seen, and darker than the typical chick peas. They also have a smooth skin that is not supposed to fall away when they are cooked…I let you know.
As I was adding the last few things to my pile, a woman asked Anthony about his Purgatorio beans, and his enticing description, made me add a bag to my pile. This tiny, white, thin-skin pole bean was traditionally a specialty of the region around Lake Bolsena in Lazio, but it is also cultivated just across the border in Umbria - Guiseppe also thought highly of these beans. Anthony mentioned that they were traditionally served with fish, which was typically eaten only on days of fasting, hence the nickname Purgatorio. I understand that they also work well in soups and salads.
Organic European heirloom variety beans right from the farmer without shipping them 6000 miles; go figure!
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