Anasazi bean

The Anasazi bean is a cultivar of the common bean, a bushy or semi-climbing annual with trifoliate leaves, small white to pink flowers and slender pods. The seeds are kidney-shaped, about 1 cm long, with a mottled pattern of deep maroon or reddish-brown and creamy white, which fades to a pinkish-brown when cooked.

Cooked Anasazi beans are tender, with a thin skin, creamy interior and a mild, slightly sweet flavour that is often described as less starchy than pinto beans. They are sold dried in bulk and bags, canned, and as seed for gardeners, usually in speciality and natural food shops. They are often used in Southwestern dishes such as chilli, refried beans, soups and salads.

Like all common beans, the Anasazi bean traces back to the domesticated Phaseolus vulgaris of the Americas, which was brought into cultivation in Mexico and in the Andes thousands of years ago. This particular cultivar is associated with the American Southwest, where beans were a cornerstone of Indigenous farming alongside maize and squash.

The name Anasazi is a Navajo word often translated as ancient enemies, used by outsiders for the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples, who are now more usually called Ancestral Puebloans. The name is a marketing label and does not indicate that seed was directly preserved from ancient sites.

Beans were central to the farming societies of the American Southwest, including the Ancestral Puebloans, who grew them in the Four Corners region more than a thousand years ago. Cultivated beans, maize and squash formed the three staple crops of the region's farming. Seed was selected and saved by Pueblo, Hopi, Navajo and other farmers over centuries, producing the diverse landraces of Southwestern beans.

The name Anasazi bean became popular in the late 20th century through commercial marketing, accompanied by a popular story that the beans were found in sealed pots in a cliff dwelling. This story, though widely repeated, is folklore rather than documented history, as seeds of that age would not remain viable. The beans themselves are a real heirloom type grown by Southwestern farmers, and Colorado producers helped popularise them in natural food markets.

Some Pueblo people object to the word Anasazi, because it comes from the language of the Navajo and refers to the ancestors of other nations, which is why many suppliers now use alternative names. The bean remains popular with cooks and heirloom seed savers who value its flavour and its connection to Southwestern food heritage.

Anasazi beans are simmered in soups, chilli, stews and burritos, cooked into refried beans, or dressed cold in salads and salsas. They cook in roughly an hour after soaking, and their thin skin gives a creamy texture, so they suit pureed dishes. They pair well with corn, chilli, cumin, sage and smoked meats.

Gardeners grow them as a bush bean, and seeds are shared in seed-saving networks. Some growers claim they are easier on digestion than other beans, though evidence is mainly anecdotal.

Like other common beans, Anasazi beans provide plant protein, fibre, folate, iron, magnesium and slowly digested carbohydrates, and regular legume intake is associated with better heart and metabolic health in population studies. Marketing claims that they cause less gas than other beans are largely anecdotal, so introduce them gradually if you do not eat many pulses.