Tepary Beans
by Jay Bost

Tepary beans, once a staple in the Sonoran Desert and cultivated throughout Mesoamerica, are one of North America's most illustrious native crops. After being largely forgotten and nearly lost, these delicious, nutty-tasting beans are currently enjoying a renaissance, owing to their superior flavor, nutrition, and extreme drought tolerance.

While most beans that we eat belong to the species Phaeseolus vulgaris and are native to South America, tepary beans belong to an entirely different species, Phaeseolus acutifolius, which grows wild in the Sonoran Desert, with local populations currently documented on Isla Tiburon in the Sea of Cortez and in the Santa Maria mountains of Arizona (Nabhan 1985). As long ago as 8,000 years ago, the native peoples of the Sonoran Desert began to domesticate wild tepary beans, which, until quite recently, were eaten by some in Mexico, along with Phaeseolus filiformis, another wild desert bean.

Due to its native habitat in the Sonoran Desert, domesticated tepary beans, whose name comes from the Papago word "t'pawi" and whose botanical name is Phaeseolus acutifolius var. acutifolius, are considered by many to be the most drought-tolerant annual legume in the world. They are capable of producing a harvest of beans with a single rain in the harshest conditions; when irrigated, they produce higher yields only up to a certain point, after which excess moisture becomes a detriment and leads to overproduction of foliage and low bean production. In fact, it appears that moisture stress is necessary to trigger fruiting. Part of the tepary bean's secret to success in dry areas is to grow quickly when water is available. While pinto beans take 90 to 120 days to maturity, teparies take only 75 to 85. As water shortages become a reality in many parts of the U.S. and around the world, teparies will undoubtedly play an important role in dryland agriculture. In fact, tepary cultivation is now taking place in dry areas of Africa and is being revived in southern Arizona where it was quite common as recently as seventy years ago.

Traditionally, in the Sonoran Desert, two crops of tepary beans were grown a year, one in the spring using winter moisture stored in the ground and one in the late summer, planted at the time of the monsoons. Gardeners in the Southwest are advised to follow similar practices. Researchers in Virginia have demonstrated that teparies can produce well in the East if planted later, in late May to early July, when moisture is lower than in early spring and temperatures are high (Hamama and Bhardwaj 2002). Gardeners and farmers in moist, cool areas can experiment with teparies but are cautioned to not overwater them.

Part of the tepary bean's appeal, in addition to its drought tolerance, is its superior nutritional content. It has a higher protein content (23–30%) than common beans such as pinto, kidney, and navy, as well as higher levels of oil, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and potassium. While higher in all of these desired nutrients, tepary beans are lower in polyunsaturated fat and in the anti-enzymatic compounds which make common beans hard to digest (Hamama and Bhardwaj 2002). Many native people in the Sonora Desert once depended on teparies along with other high fiber and mucilaginous foods, such as cactus and mesquite, as dietary staples. As these native people gradually abandoned their native foods and embraced a Western, processed diet, diabetes soared. In some of these native populations, diabetes is fifteen times the national average (Nabhan 1985). It is now known that many Native Americans have a genetic predisposition to diabetes if eating a highly processed Western diet. Tepary beans are proving to be an ideal food for people prone to diabetes or suffering from diabetes owing to the beans' high fiber level, which make them a "slow-release food"; that is, tepary beans' sugars are released slowly and steadily, rather than in a spike as in many high carbohydrate, low fiber foods common in our diets. Many reservations in southern Arizona have re-embraced the tepary bean and now cultivate the beans for their own use, as well as for sale. If you are interested in purchasing larger quantities of beans to eat, support one of the projects listed in the contacts below.

Most importantly perhaps for many, is the flavor of tepary bean, which is unlike any other bean. It has a potent nutty-sweet flavor, as well as a much creamier texture than most beans. Another added bonus is that tepary beans cook more quickly than other beans and thus use less energy in their preparation. Below is a recipe for Papago Tepary Soup:

Ingredients:
2 cups tepary beans, soaked overnight
6 cups water
4 slices bacon, diced or 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup diced celery
1 clove garlic, diced
3 cups tomatoes w/juice
1 tsp mixed oregano and cumin
Dry red chile pepper (optional)

Drain soaked beans and bring to boil in big pot with the six cups of water. When the beans are tender, fry bacon until limp then remove it from pan. If not using bacon, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat; add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add bacon, tomatoes with their juice, and the oregano/cumin mix. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add vegetable mix to the beans. Cook another hour until beans are mealy-tender. Dried red chile pepper may be stirred into pot during the last 10 minutes. Serves 6. Serve with flour tortillas. (Recipe from: OCB Tracker: California's Native News)

Seeds of Change offers three varieties of tepary beans. Our personal favorite is Sonora Gold, which is beautiful dry and has the nuttiest and sweetest taste. We encourage you to experiment with this ancient North American native bean in both your garden and your kitchen and thus to take part in its revival.

Jay Bost
Research Farm Associate

References:
Hamama, A.A. and H.L. Bhardwaj. 2002. Tepary bean: A short duration summer crop in Virginia. p. 429-431. In: J. Janick and A. Whipkey (eds.), Trends in new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. 1985. Gathering the desert. Tucson, AZ: Univ. of AZ Press.

Resources:
San Xavier Farm Cooperative Association
8100 South Oidak Wog
Tucson, AZ 85746
520.295.3774

Tohono O'odham Community Action
PO Box 1790
Sells, AZ 85634
520.383.4966
www.tocaonline.org

Renewing America's Food Traditions by Gary Paul Nabhan and Ashley Rood can be viewed or purchased online from Renewing America's Food Traditions

Photo captions: (1) Sonoran Gold tepary beans (2) Blue Speckled tepary beans (3) Mitla Black tepary beans