Pinto Beans
Pinto bean, Mexican strawberry, rattlesnake bean, Appaloosa bean is slightly smaller than the kidney bean and has a squarish-oval shape. The background is a ligh buff colour with a freckled pinkish-brown pattern on top. It has a mealy texture and a full-bodied, earthy flavour. It is closely related to the red kidney bean. The rattlesnake bean is a fairly new hybrid and so named because of its markings on the pod and on the bean. The Appaloosa is also a relative and a new hybrid that comes from eastern Washington State and northern Idaho in the US. This particular region, known as the Palouse, has the largest number of bean, pea, and lentil growers in the US. It is also the region that gave the speckled horse its Appaloosa name. The pinto bean, however, is native to South America and is from a highly hybridized crop with a long list of heirloom beans.
