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Article: Dry Beans Came Over on the Mayflower
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- March 31, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Associated Press. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Associated Press. (Hide copyright information)
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DEAN FOSDICK, For The Associated Press
AP Online
03-31-2004
Dateline: NEW MARKET, Va.
Before you casually throw another handful of dry beans into your next batch of simmering chili, consider how far the little legumes may have come.
Some crossed the Atlantic, for instance, with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower (varieties dubbed "the Mayflower" and "Jacob's Cattle"). Perhaps they arrived via speedy clipper ships, loaded to the gunnels with trade from the Orient (China Yellow).
Or from clay pots sealed with pitch by members of an ancient, cliff dwelling Indian tribe. A few samples of the so-called "Anasazi" or "New Mexico Cave Beans" were successfully germinated after 1,500 years of dormancy and ...