Tepary Bean

Tepary beans grow on a vine-like annual with small leaves covered in fine hairs that help the plant resist heat. The pods are short, flat and hold only a few seeds, which are small and rounded and come in white, tan, brown, black or mottled patterns. Compared with common beans the seed is dense, with a sweet, earthy flavour and a firm texture that holds up well in cooking. The plant needs very little water and is among the most heat- and drought-tolerant of cultivated beans, producing a crop in conditions where many other legumes fail.

The tepary bean belongs to the genus Phaseolus and is native to the Sonoran Desert region of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Wild forms still grow in southern Arizona and northern Mexico, and the cultivated forms were domesticated by Indigenous farmers, possibly thousands of years ago. The common name is thought to come from the O'odham phrase for it is a bean. The crop was widely grown by Tohono O'odham, Pima and other desert peoples, who planted it after summer monsoon rains, and was also traded across the region.

Archaeological finds indicate that teparies were eaten in the Southwest long before European contact, and they were among the staple foods of desert farming communities alongside corn, squash and mesquite. Seeds were stored for lean years and cooked into stews and porridges. During the twentieth century, as irrigated agriculture and processed foods spread, tepary production in the region declined sharply, and the bean became uncommon even in places where it had been central.

In recent decades the bean has attracted renewed interest from seed-saving groups, Indigenous food programmes and plant breeders, who see its tolerance of heat and dry spells as valuable in a warming climate. Researchers have studied it as a source of useful genes for improving common beans. It is now grown on a small scale in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico and some parts of Africa, and is sold as dried beans through speciality and heritage-food suppliers.

Tepary beans are soaked and simmered like other dried beans, though they cook more slowly than many common beans. They are used in soups, stews, chili, refried dishes, salads and succotash, and ground into flour for thickening. Their natural sweetness pairs well with chile, cumin, tomato and smoked meats. In Indigenous cuisines they are often cooked with corn, squash and wild greens. Sprouted teparies can be used in salads.

Like other dried beans, teparies provide plant protein, complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre, along with folate, iron, magnesium and potassium. They are low in fat. Their carbohydrates are digested relatively slowly, and the high fibre content supports regular digestion. Legumes as a group are associated in population studies with healthy eating patterns. As with all pulses, they contain oligosaccharides that may cause gas in some people, so soaking and thorough cooking are helpful.