Dried Beans

This group of pulses includes hundreds of varieties and many are called different things depending on where you live.

Adzuki beans are a small reddish-brown bean. These are sweet and are ground to make flour or used in desserts in Japan. Haricot beans, including flageolet, cannellini and navy beans, are used widely in Europe and America, where they are known as white beans. Butter, or lima, beans are large white beans, which break down to a purée when cooked. Red and black kidney beans are a staple of South and Central America and are used in soups and stews or refried as a paste. Borlotti, also called a cranberry bean, and pinto beans have speckled skins. Pintos are used in Central and South America and borlotti in Italy. Black-eyed beans are eaten in the American south.