WNC State Farmer’s Market Visit

I parked outside of the Coates section and went inside. I walked up to the nearest end of the building to what I now know is “Cara’s Corner”. About the time that I saw on the far wall, a bunch of spices, I also noted Cara sweeping the floor. And, the dust did make me start to cough, but eventually she made it far enough from me so that I didn’t respond negatively.

As I walked toward the cash register, I noted some dried beans in boxes near the floor. I bought some Speckled butter(beans), Yellow eye ( a play on black eye peas I guess) and October beans. **I have since gone online to figure out how to cook these beans.

Above, I am cooking the Yellow Eye beans as I would Black Eyed Peas. The more they cook, the closer to the “look” of Black Eyed peas they become. But, they do appear to be plumping up larger than Black Eyed peas would. The peas were plumper, but I’m not sure of the flavor. But, with Black Eyed peas, they are usually better if you let them “sit” in the fridge for a day. The flavors meld and can become quite good. I am hoping these peas will do similarly… but I don’t think they will. *** The October beans, and the Yellow Eye peas seem to not have the distinctive flavors of more established beans & peas. I am guessing that white Butter beans, and Black Eyed peas have thrived because they were the most distinctive of their counter parts.

Cooking October Beans

I cooked a pot of October beans this afternoon, adding ham hock and chopped onion as they cooked. It took a little over an hour and a half, on stove-top for the beans to become completely tender.

I took some beans out and used the blender on them, returning the crushed beans back to the pot.

Their cooked texture and flavor reminds me of a Pinto or maybe a Kidney bean. And, look at the dried beans above. Some are red like a Kidney bean, and the rest become a solid brownish, with a slightly white interior when cooked. The cooked flavor is somewhat reminiscent of the refried beans that you can get at Taco Bell in their bean burrito. So, I would suggest flavoring the beans not with ham hock, and maybe adding jalapenos and maybe some Southwest Seasonings. Cilantro, cumin, paprika, sour cream, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and sweet onion, hot sauce… ***I did blend the cooked beans and they are very good “refried beans”. But, since you can buy a can of refried beans fairly cheaply, I see no need to cook them from scratch.

NOTE [05/14/25]: I was just looking through my various “beans, beans, beans” articles and happened to notice for the first time that the October Beans I had bought at the State Farmers Market in Asheville several years ago, looked much like the Borlotti/Cranberry/Roman Beans I had tried some time later. It was an episode of one of the Jamie Oliver cooking shows where he cooked the Borlotti Beans and I decided to try them. I had been oblivious to theses beans until that point.

I enjoyed the flavor of these beans in a recipe which paired them with Red Chard. I think I bought a bag of the dry Cranberry Beans at IGA (or at least I recall seeing a bag of them there). I later saw cans of Roman Beans at Walmart.

Yes. When I just googled, October Beans are synonymous with the same bean, named otherwise. A bean by any other name would smell as sweet… Borlotti, Cranberry, October or Roman Bean. [end NOTE]

Cooking Speckled Butterbeans

I did not add salt to the beans, and the seasoning meat was the same as used in the other two beans, but these appeared much saltier. It may be that the bean itself has an almost “acrid” flavor which seems to have heighted the salty flavor. They are distinctive in flavor, but perhaps with a slight butterbean aftertaste… that flavor you get from the inside, mealy part of the butterbean. During cooking the beans go from speckled to a solid, deep brown color. The “pot liquor” is delicious when hot. *I think there might be some other seasoning(s) or additions (e.g. dandelion greens) or serving these beans with rice or pastry. I fixed some chicken gizzards & rice at the same time, and ended up eating both together, and the bean/rice combo worked fine.

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In retrospect, I looked at the photos that I took, of the dried beans, the beans during cooking, and the finished dishes and I think all three beans look delicious. But, all three beans were a disappointment to me in that they just didn’t measure up to the more established and widely used beans: Black Eyed Peas and Butterbeans.

— The Yellow Eye Beans hinted at the flavor of Black Eyed Peas, but Black Eyed won out because they were just “more flavorable.”

— The October Beans when cooked took on the flavor of a Pinto or Kidney Bean. I suggested using Southwestern seasonings and maybe adding Jalapenos.

NOTE [10/21/22]: I made some good flavored Cranberry Beans (Borlotti) with Chard today (first time). I didn’t use any seasoning meat, and the beans still had a distinctive flavor. Not sure if it was the beans or the Chard. But, since the Cranberry beans look a lot like the October beans, I might give the October beans another try, cooking with the Chard as I did today. [end note]

— Speckled Butterbeans had an acrid flavor which may have added to their seeming more salty.