Navy Bean

Navy beans are the dried seeds of the common bean plant, a bushy annual with trifoliate leaves and small white or pale flowers. The pods are slender and contain about four to six small, rounded-oval white seeds, each only about 6 to 9 millimetres long. When cooked they become soft and creamy with a delicate, slightly sweet taste, and they readily absorb the flavours of the dish. They hold their shape reasonably well, but can also break down into a thick, smooth texture in long-simmered soups and purees.

The common bean was domesticated in the Americas, with separate domestications in Mesoamerica and the Andes thousands of years ago, and all modern cultivars including navy beans descend from these. The navy bean as a market class was developed in North America, and today is grown mainly in Michigan, North Dakota, Ontario and other parts of the United States and Canada. The crop likes warm weather, moderate rainfall and well-drained soils, and the plants are cut and dried in the field before harvest.

The name navy bean is said to come from its use as a staple food for sailors in the United States Navy from the mid-nineteenth century onward, when dried beans were an inexpensive, long-keeping ration. The beans were cooked in soups, stewed with salt pork, or baked, and they became linked with military and institutional cooking.

In the twentieth century the navy bean became the main bean used in commercial canned baked beans in the United Kingdom, North America and Australia. Plant breeders have released many varieties with improved yield and disease resistance. The bean remains an everyday pantry item, valued as an inexpensive source of plant protein and fibre, and it is closely related to other white beans such as great northern and cannellini, although each has its own typical size and texture.

Navy beans are soaked and simmered for soups, stews, baked beans, casseroles and chilli. They are mashed for dips and spreads, mixed into salads, and cooked with tomato, onions and herbs. Their mild flavour suits both savoury and slightly sweet preparations such as Boston baked beans, and they can be blended into creamy soups without dairy. Canned navy beans are a convenient alternative. Dried beans should be rinsed, soaked or quick-boiled, and cooked until completely tender. Cooking time is usually one to one and a half hours after soaking.

Cooked navy beans are a good source of plant protein and are especially high in dietary fibre for their size, along with folate, thiamine, magnesium, iron and potassium. They are low in fat and have a relatively low glycaemic response compared with many starchy foods. Regular intake of beans and other legumes is part of many traditional dietary patterns associated with good health. Canned varieties may be high in sodium, so draining and rinsing them reduces the salt content.