Beans: Unusual Varieties Offer Uncommon Options

Do the calypso, lasso an appaloosa, stare down a yellow eye - all in your kitchen, with beans.

Most of us know pinto beans, red kidney beans, black beans and other familiar dried legumes.

But to get a little wilder with the vast bean clan, you might try some of the more unusual varieties: calypso, appaloosa, tongues of fire, anasazi, yellow eye, scarlet runner and others.

The flavor and texture differences are usually subtle - in some cases nearly undetectable - but their looks are so distinctive they'll jazz up your kitchen and your cooking.

Calypso beans are downright cute - one side black with a white dot or two, the other side white with a black dot or two. Yellow eye beans have a similar pattern in white and golden brown, and anasazi beans get attention with a pattern of white and maroon.

Tongues of fire beans, despite their name, have a mottled maroon-on-tan look that bears no resemblance to tongues, nor are they at all hot in taste. They can, however, take on other spicy flavors, such as the curry in today's recipe for Curried Tongues of Fire.

Unfortunately, cooking dulls beans' colors and patterns. To show off their original eye appeal, you could display uncooked beans on the table in small bowls, baskets or a plate.

Interesting appearance is just one of the many attractions of beans. They've been a satisfying and nourishing staple of human diets for thousands of years, supplying protein, iron, B vitamins,

fiber and other nutrients - not to mention good taste.

Infinitely adaptable, they can be used in everything from soups to dips, salads, chili, stews and casseroles, picking up the flavors of other ingredients. Because they're compatible with many seasonings, they work well in various ethnic dishes, such as today's Grecian Bean and Rice Soup.

Although some stores, such as Puget Consumers Co-op, sell many kinds of dried beans in bulk, the more uncommon varieties are usually packaged. You can find these locally at specialty stores such as DeLaurenti's and Pasta & Co., as well as PCC and certain other natural-foods stores and large supermarkets with well-stocked legume sections.

Unusual varieties generally cost more than the familiar kinds. To reduce costs in a multibean recipe, such as today's Five-Bean Salad with Walnuts, you could mix expensive beans, such as calypso, with more common, inexpensive ones, such as small red beans.