I've been looking for some blue-colored beans for several years. Its easy to find beans in a range of colors (red, pink, white, yellow, green, black), but blues are a rarity in beans. Early on I found an Italian bean called "Nonna Agne's Blue Bean", but the only seller in my country was out of stock. Sometime
along the way I received an offer of some French heirloom blue beans via
a facebook connection, but no seeds ever appeared. (She offered them
for free, so I can't complain too much.) Blue beans are around, but they're rare.
Last year I received some beans from an online collaborator after I had mentioned my interest in blue beans. She said one of her plants that season had turned out to be an unexpected hybrid that produced blueish seeds. The three seeds that arrived are shown at left. To my eye they were basically black, but with maybe the slightest blue cast. I wasn't optimistic, but after the difficulty I'd had finding blue beans I was going to give them a try.
Two of those three beans sprouted. This was kinda a dramatic time, as those two sprouts could easily have died and then another possible blue bean lead would have gone nowhere. Fortunately, both plants thrived.
A few months later I had a small pile of new beans. When I started shelling them I was very pleased to see some distinctive blue color. As the beans age and dry down, they start to produce some tan pigment which muddies up the pretty blue.
Next spring I'll plant enough of the more blue beans so I can grow enough to make a few meals of them. Right now I have too few to make a meal and have enough for planting.
How did I know that the biology of bean color should be able to produce a blue bean? The red color of beans is due to a group of biological pigments called anthocyanins. This same group of compounds is also responsible for the rare blue pigments we see in biology.
An analysis of black beans showed most of the anthocyanins to be delphinidin (at 56%), with lesser amounts of petunidin and malvidin (26% and 18%, respectively). Delphinidin and malvidin are responsible for blue color in various flowers. The petunidin is described as having a dark-red/purple color. All together, this suggests that black beans really are just super-dark blue beans. This is corroborated by references I've heard of black beans crossed to white beans sometimes producing distinctly blue beans in among the progeny.
So, why are blue beans so rare? I got nothing that explains it. Blue is such a lovely and generally rare color that I would have thought people would have been growing blue beans as much or more than the now-common red beans. Maybe I can help rectify the situation in time.
As I was writing this post I decided to look around again for vendors selling blue bean varieties. I found a European vendor that seems to have stock of the Italian "Nonna Agne's Blue Bean". I also found another unrelated blue variety called "Blue Shackamaxon Pole Bean". I might think about ordering some of each, but it'd be more fun to make my own now that I've got a start at it.
References:
Two of those three beans sprouted. This was kinda a dramatic time, as those two sprouts could easily have died and then another possible blue bean lead would have gone nowhere. Fortunately, both plants thrived.
A few months later I had a small pile of new beans. When I started shelling them I was very pleased to see some distinctive blue color. As the beans age and dry down, they start to produce some tan pigment which muddies up the pretty blue.Next spring I'll plant enough of the more blue beans so I can grow enough to make a few meals of them. Right now I have too few to make a meal and have enough for planting.
How did I know that the biology of bean color should be able to produce a blue bean? The red color of beans is due to a group of biological pigments called anthocyanins. This same group of compounds is also responsible for the rare blue pigments we see in biology.
An analysis of black beans showed most of the anthocyanins to be delphinidin (at 56%), with lesser amounts of petunidin and malvidin (26% and 18%, respectively). Delphinidin and malvidin are responsible for blue color in various flowers. The petunidin is described as having a dark-red/purple color. All together, this suggests that black beans really are just super-dark blue beans. This is corroborated by references I've heard of black beans crossed to white beans sometimes producing distinctly blue beans in among the progeny.
So, why are blue beans so rare? I got nothing that explains it. Blue is such a lovely and generally rare color that I would have thought people would have been growing blue beans as much or more than the now-common red beans. Maybe I can help rectify the situation in time.
As I was writing this post I decided to look around again for vendors selling blue bean varieties. I found a European vendor that seems to have stock of the Italian "Nonna Agne's Blue Bean". I also found another unrelated blue variety called "Blue Shackamaxon Pole Bean". I might think about ordering some of each, but it'd be more fun to make my own now that I've got a start at it.
References:
- Nonna Agne's Blue Bean:
- https://www.rareseeds.com/nonna-agnes-s-blue-bean/reviews/
- http://oroseeds.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1289
- Blue Shackamaxon Bean:
- Anthocyanins:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5613902/
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem.2018.00052/full
- Petunidin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petunidin
- Delphinidin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphinidin
- Malvidin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvidin
- Anthocyanins in beans:
We won't have any more for another year, but have you seen the 'Sacre Bleu' bean we offered this past year? From Lisa Bloodnick in upstate New York. www.efnseeds.com
ReplyDeleteI've got a sample of "Sacre Bleu" direct from Lisa Bloodnick. They're a gorgeous color, but more purple than blue to my eyes. I haven't grown any yet. With my limited growing area, I didn't want them to cross with the blue lines I'm working on.
DeleteI would be happy to send you some nonna agnes if you are interested. I have a lot
ReplyDeletehi kbg, would you be able/willing to send some nonna agnes to an internet stranger?! :) Can do a seed swap with you or send sase. lmk if this is possible for you! Thank you! pax.
DeleteI would be happy to seen seed if you are in US. you can emailme at thebestbluebeans at gmail dot com
Delete*happy to send bean seeds
Deletei have a crop of blue beans although the outside looks like Romano beans
ReplyDeleteNot sure of the name
Looking forward to your feedback
Actually tryim( to figure out the best cooking method
Any suggestions
i have a crop of blue beans although the outside looks like Romano beans
ReplyDeleteNot sure of the name
Looking forward to your feedback
Actually tryim( to figure out the best cooking method
Any suggestions
I think I may have contacted you last year but this is my third year growing blue beans that arose spontaneously on my farm. Interestingly they most likely have mixed parentage from some combination of three Italian-varieties of beans I was growing. Just posted a public photo on my Facebook page. Happy to share more details or even seeds. Trying to come up with a name for my variety, which still does produce some tan beans that tend to be smaller, as well as less intense blue beans
ReplyDeleteHello internet stranger ofcorso. Would it be possible to obtain some of your blue beans to grow? I'm desperate to try a blue bean this year and would love something surprising and grassroots. I could do a seed swap with you or send a sase to you. lmk how we connect. pax.
DeleteI haven't been all that active on this blog in a spell, but I would love to see a photo of your beans.
Delete