FreshPoint

Description:

Also known as Borlotti beans, Cranberry Beans are wonderful beans that are at their best when fresh. The ecru beans are streaked with bright cherry red, and they are easy to shell and cook fairly quickly. They hold their shape well and have a mildly nutty taste. Like the Cannellini, the classic Cranberry Bean made its way from South America to Europe. The craze for Tuscan food has placed the Cranberry second in popularity to the Cannellini, but if anything, it’ s a bit more flavorful than its pale cousin, and it is the bean that is preferred in Venice. One of Southern California’ s most acclaimed restaurants is so enamoured of fresh Cranberry Beans that when they’ re available, they purchase a hundred pounds or so, and shell, blanch, and freeze them for future use. When out of season, if you forgot to freeze a few hundred pounds, use dry Cranberry , fresh or dry Cannellini, pinto, red or pink Kidney Beans, but nothing matches the flavor and texture of a fresh Cranberry Bean.