An early-maturing, white, thin-skinned dry bean. This Ark of Taste heirloom pole bean has vines that climb to about 6-7’. 85-90 days. Lane Selman, founder of the Culinary Breeding Network (CBN), loves a good seed hunt! One of her favorite things to do before embarking on an international trip is ask seed grower friends what they would like her to try to find and bring back for them.
The background story: In 2014, Brian Campbell of Uprising Seeds asked Lane Selman to try to find and bring back the elusive Sorana bean during a trip to Italy. This delicious creamy thin-skinned bean has the Italian Presidia designation and are grown in small plots on a few hectares along the Pescia River in the Tuscan region. Luckily, Lane found these beans at a Slow Food shop in Pistoia, Italy and the bean has proved to be well adapted for our region and the earliest of their numerous dry beans Uprising Seeds offers, which is quite unusual for a pole been. Sorana is also referred to as ‘Marcella’ by Rancho Gordo bean company, named for Italian cookbook writer Marcella Hazen.
More information can be found on the following:
www.culinarybreedingnetwork.com
Culinary Breeding Network
