Flageolet Bean

The flageolet is a variety of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, grown as a bush or climbing plant with slim pods. The beans are small, slender and kidney-shaped, about 1 cm long, and in the best-known form are pale green or ivory. They are picked while still semi-mature, before the seed reaches its full dry hardness, which keeps the skin thin and the flesh delicate. The cooked bean is creamy, soft and delicately sweet, with a subtle, almost buttery flavor and little starchiness. Flageolets are sold dried, canned or jarred, and in some places fresh in season, and may also come in white, red or dark colors.

The common bean originated in the Americas and was domesticated in Mesoamerica and the Andes, then carried to Europe after 1492. The flageolet was developed in France in 1872 by Gabriel Chevrier, a plant breeder in Brétigny-sur-Orge near Paris, who selected a bean to be harvested before full ripeness and dried quickly. The name comes from the French word flageolet, a small flute, perhaps because of the bean's slim shape or the supposed sound of digestion. Phaseolus is from the Latin for a small boat or bean pod.

Beans reached Europe in the sixteenth century from the New World and slowly replaced older legumes such as fava beans in many cuisines. In France, bean varieties were refined for gardens and regional dishes, including the white beans of cassoulet. The flageolet came later than most, introduced by Chevrier in 1872 as an innovation for the cuisine of the age, offering a fresh-tasting dried bean with a thin skin that cooked quickly and did not need a long soak.

Flageolets quickly won favor in bourgeois French cooking and became associated with the dish gigot d'agneau aux flageolets, roast leg of lamb with the beans. Their delicate flavor was seen as a match for the rich meat and its juices. The green variety was grown in northern France, and Brittany and other regions also developed cultivation.

Production expanded in the twentieth century into Spain, Italy and other countries, and in the United States flageolets became a gourmet specialty. Today they remain a favorite of French cooking, often found in stews, salads and soups.

Flageolets are simmered until tender, often with onion, bay leaf, garlic and thyme, and served with roast lamb, sausages, duck or fish. They appear in soups, salads and gratins, in cold salads with herbs and vinaigrette, and in vegetable stews. Dried beans cook faster than most, usually in 45 to 60 minutes after an optional soak. Canned or jarred flageolets are convenient for quick meals. Cook with a little acid only at the end to avoid toughening the skin.

Like other beans, flageolets provide plant protein, fiber, folate, iron, and potassium with little fat. Regular intake of beans and other pulses is associated with better heart health and blood sugar control within a balanced diet. The soluble fiber and resistant starch also feed gut bacteria, which may explain the gas some people experience. Rinsing canned beans can lower sodium, and gradually increasing portions helps the gut adapt.