Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Mayocoba Beans

Eureka! I found a new bean to play with!   Well, new to me anyway.

While shopping for groceries this past weekend, I came across a "new to me" bean called Mayocoba.  I have never seen this name or the bean before yesterday, so of course I had to buy it and check it out.

According to several websites I checked out, the Mayocoba bean is a Peruvian bean with a ivory yellow color.  I don't know that I would call it ivory yellow as many of the beans have a greenish tint to it in my opinion, but we'll go with ivory yellow for now.  It is similar in shape and size of a pinto bean, but reminds me in color of a very light colored split pea. 




This bean has about 15% iron in a single serving of  35g (just a little over 1 ounce) as well as only 1g of sugar and about 100 calories.  Not bad for a little bean. 

I have read that this little yellow bean holds it's shape better than other beans.  With a buttery, some say creamy texture, this bean is said to taste closely to that of a pinto bean.  Other names it can be found under are "mayo coba bean, maicoba bean, azufrado bean, canaria bean, canario bean, Mexican yellow bean, Peruvian bean, or a Peruano bean" according to RecipeTips.com.  Another site says this bean can easily take the place of Cannellini or Great Northern beans. With all these flavor associations, it should be fun deciding for myself what it taste like.  I've heard quite often that snake tastes like chicken..hmmm, I wonder......   Nah!

So now that I have this little bean in my possession, I will experiment with it and discover the potential it holds.  I hope you'll come back to see what I've cooked up with it. 

Stay tuned....





22 comments:

CrackingWise said...

Mayocoba beans are new to me, too. I had seen canned mayocobas by Goya that seemed overpriced, but now we have a store brand (H-E-B) that's more in line with the price of other canned beans. I used them to make a chili instead of pintos or kidneys, and all I can say is wow. They didn't get mushy like pintos, but they also don't have tough skins like kidneys. They also have a subtle buttery flavor and a smooth non-grainy texture inside. I can see why they are becoming the new food fad. On a lark, I bought some dry mayocobas at the ethnic market, so I'll try making them from scratch next, probably charro/borracho style.

The Howell Blessings said...

Thanks for the feedback and info CrackingWise! It's good to hear from someone who's actually already tried these. I'm wondering now if I could use these to make a sauce that is smooth and buttery. Hmmm, food for thought! Thanks!

L.Maynor said...

Legume Lover-Michigan
I also was unfamiliar with the Mayocoba Bean and experimented the other day. I sauteed some onions, and added (to taste) some Spicy Curry Powder, garlic powder,salt and pepper (I am on a curry kick) with a teaspoon of grapeseed oil and it was wonderful. I did a Quick Boil for 30 minutes, then cooked for one and a half hours or until the bite texture is to your liking. I love these beans!

Louisville Lip Records said...

We found Mayocoba beans last week for the first time. Made a pot today. Two 16 oz packages, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, red pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, basil, oregano,bring to a boil, keep covered, stir occasionally, slow and low for two hours, let sit for a few hours, fill a one quart freezer bag up for winter storage and freeze, later heat up the rest for dinner, served with hot dogs and sour kraut on the side. It was DELICIOUS! Very much like a Northern bean, but quite a bit creamier and meatier. Broth cooks up thick and creamy and hearty. Highly recommend!

Unknown said...

I am cooking a crockpot full of mayocobas (sopa style) now with 1pkg jamon season, 1pkg sazon (cilantro/ achiote), 1 shallot, and 1 pan seared pork roast...we chose these because we have a child requiring a high fiber diet and these are suppose to be high in fiber. They look and smell wonderful and we can't wait to try!

The Howell Blessings said...

Thank you L.Maynor, Louisville Lip Records, and Allison Crain for you feedback and recipes! I love all these ideas. I can't wait to try them all. Look for some new recipes soon! <3

Unknown said...

Hi, Mindy.

I bought these at walmart and cooked some until quite soft and found them delicious! I looked online and found a pdf document describingthem as being genetically identical to some veriety patented by agribusiness even though they've been grown in subtropical places previously. This document is http://www.iatp.org/files/TRIPs_Agreement_Who_Owns_and_Controls_Knowledg.pdf

Y'r [new] ol' Bud,

Fike

The Howell Blessings said...

Thanks Fike! I've been using them lately in a recipe from the book "The Blue Zone Solution" which features a minestrone soup from Sardina, Italy. The recipe calls for Cranberry beans, Fava beans and Chickpeas. I didn't have the dried Fava beans on hand, so I substituted the Mayacoba dried beans instead. They are such a nummy substitute that I may just make that my bean for this one! Thanks for the article. I read somewhere that the "patent" for this bean had been released in 1996 so it is relatively "new" bean to us here the U.S. Scary to think someone can control what plants grow and what cannot. Thanks for taking a peek at my post! Hope to see you back here soon. (I'm working on getting back to writing, so hope to have many new posts in the future)

Mindy

Jenilu said...

Just came across this looking for info to share with my brother. Last night I cooked pre-soaked Peruvian beans with 3 garlic cloves, a couple of pieces of bacon and a cube of Knorr chicken bullion and some seasoned salt. These melt in your mouth yummy.
Later on I added a handful of cooked chicken pieces to the leftovers along with a handful of lemon basil, such a success for leftovers.
Also this bean works wonderful with Provencal herbs or making a bean dip or substitute for garbanzos in hummus. They also call them yellow beans. Exponentially better cooked from dry beans than canned. I soaked overnight in the fridge and they took less than an hour to cook on simmer after first bring to a boil.
I hope you all will love these beans as much as I do.

Mindy Howell said...

Thanks for stopping by Jenilu and sharing your experiences with this bean. It has quickly become one of my favorites!

Anonymous said...

Went to market to buy peruano beans but they didn't have it so I remember someone while back told me that mayocoba is another name for peruano beans so was wondering if that's true if someone out there knows?

Unknown said...

Peruvian, peruano, mayocoba are just names of a bean native to Mexico

Anonymous said...

Here is an interesting history of the mayocoba bean and its introduction to the American markets. Its about patents and bio-piracy. Many say that it was Rebecca Gilliland that named the mayocoba peruano.
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/food_politics/beans/3.html

Anonymous said...

Hi. Thanks for the post. I was just introduced to this bean and needed more info. Jenilu's comment answered my question. I want to substitute the Mayocoba for garbanzo in a lentil loaf recipe. Garbanzo has recently become one of my favourite beans, after being afraid to try it for so many years. Wasted time. Sigh. Now I'm hopeful about this (new to me too) bean. Who knows how many bean varieties are out there that I've never heard of but would enjoy at least as much! 😀
Anne

Anonymous said...

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I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it.
I have you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post?

Unknown said...

Just bought these beans and will soak overnight. I usually add a can of Rotelle tomatoes with all my beans

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Anonymous said...

Hey there! Great blog post and I have the same appreciation for mayocoba beans. In fact, I loved them so much I created a frozen burrito with them that is now in grocery stores (Johnny Ringo's bean & cheese burrito). I made rounds sampling the burritos and people commented how they are loaded with cheese, but its actually that creamy mayocoba bean. One of the most underrated beans in my opinion.