True Red Cranberry
| True Red Cranberry | |
|---|---|
| |
| Uses | snap (possibly), dry |
| Growth Habit | pole |
| Maturity | late |
| Flower Color | pink |
| Pod Color | green |
| Seed Color | dark red |
| Seed Pattern | solid |
Name and History
Unlike the tan-and-red beans that usually have "cranberry" in their names in the US, these actually look like their namesake fruit. A very old kind of bean, grown in the northeastern US for hundreds of years, with a long association with Maine and the Abenaki people. In 1863 Fearing Burr wrote that Red Cranberry "is one of the oldest and most familiar of garden-beans, and has probably been longer and more generally cultivated in this country than any other variety." Despite this enduring popularity the 1900s were less than kind and it (and many other heirloom vegetables) nearly vanished. Intrigued by seeing a red cranberry bean listed in a 1700s garden catalog, John Withee of Wanigan Associates searched for it for 11 years without success before being given some by Mr. Taylor of Steep Falls, Maine. In 1981 John donated True Red Cranberry and the other 1185 bean varieties in Wanigan Associates' collection to Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa, who were instrumental in getting it back into general circulation.
The Vegetables of New York (1928) calls it Red Cranberry Pole and lists as synonyms: Arlington Red Cranberry, Boston Market Pole, Cardinal, Horticultural Pole, Medium Imperial, and Pearl. Of those it says that Boston Market is almost identical except for being two weeks earlier and more productive, and that Arlington Red Cranberry is an 1885 selection from the original with larger, stringless pods.
The Vegetables of New York also suggests that True Red Cranberry may be the bean described in Marc Lescarbot's Histoire de la Nouvelle-France (1612) as being sown amongst corn by Armouchiquois Indians, but upon looking up that book I could only find mention of "many-colored beans" being interplanted with corn. If anyone reading this has a better 17th-century source please drop me a line!
This bean appears in:
Page 488 of The Field and Garden Vegetables of America by Fearing Burr, published 1863.
Page 73 of The Vegetables of New York Volume 1 by U.P. Hedrick, published 1928.
Page 65 of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by William Woys Weaver, published 1997 (online excerpt).
Description
Growth:
Climbing plants that can get quite tall and bushy. Many people describe them as slow to get started. Late season.
Flowers:
Very pale pink.
Pods:
Green, with a lumpy profile. 4-8 seeds per pod. When fully dry the pods are hard-walled and constricted around the seeds, making them difficult to shell by hand.
Seeds:
Large, fat, oval beans. A lovely solid dark red.
Uses and Opinions
Nowadays used primarily (exclusively?) as a dry or shell bean, but The Field and Garden Vegetables of America says it was "principally grown as a string-bean," so I suspect it's probably a tender-hulled snap bean that fell out of favor once stringless varieties gained market dominance. If you try the snaps let me know how they are!
The dry beans are reputed to be excellent for baking. Many people & companies' descriptions mention them having a "rich" flavor. I haven't eaten these in years but remember liking them very much, and that they had a texture and flavor kind of like a baked russet potato.
Gallery
Dry seeds. Santa Clara County, California.
Flower. Santa Clara County, California. 17 Oct 2012.
Dry seeds. Santa Clara County, California.
