Rancho Gordo Beans and Bean Club

[Skip]

I ordered RG Beans last week for the first time. Looking forward to cooking some soon! Any advice from all of you?

[fzxdoc]

You're going to love them. I go through a lot of Midnight Blacks for many Mexican dishes, and enjoy the Cranberry bean in Tuscan soup recipes. Haven't tasted the Tuscan Red yet.

My advice for the first time is to keep the flavors simple so you can really taste the bean, like a ham and bean soup or a black bean salad perhaps.

Kathryn

[jhapka]

Don’t bother soaking them they’re so fresh you don’t need to and I tend to let them overcook when I soak them

[ecowper]

Those cranberry beans are great for "Drunken Beans" .... https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...en-texas-beans

[FireMan]

Ya’ll nudged me into perchasin some beans from Rancho Gordie’s. Finally cooked some last week when I cooked those Wibs fer my injured couple. They thought they were great. I didn’t tell em Inwas a duck out of water, havin never
cooked those little guys before. Have another cook fer a couple just moseyin into town & want to cook some agin. Lookin fer some advice or recipes.

[Huskee]

Can these be cooked at fish camp?

[ecowper]

Drunken Beans ..... see recipe I posted to Skip one post above

[smabrito]

Joining in the gaseous expulsion conversation.....the Epazote herb is supposed to de-fart beans. Seems to work for us but could it just be mind over gas? It grows like a weed here. We put in one plant 20 years ago & they reseed like crazy. We're in San Antonio so it may be a windowsill plant if you live in colder climate. Some grocery stores sell it in this part of the world.

[wrgilb]

I knew I shouldn't have clicked on this topic. Just received my 6 canisters I ordered yesterday from Amazon, thanks @ecowper for the link. The Queen Bean pushed me over the top, Thanks @fzxdoc. Here's my order.

Your order has shipped!

We've got some good news! All of the items from your have now been shipped.

Shipment Details:

Santa Maria Pinquito Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 1 Christmas Lima Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 1 Super Lucky 2023 Black Eyed Pea - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 2 Royal Corona Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 1 Marcella Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 2 Cranberry Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 1 Ayocote Negro Bean - 1 Lb Bag Quantity: 1

[fzxdoc]

Wow, what a great haul! You've got some great eating ahead, wrgilb .

Kathryn

[wrgilb]

I've been getting some beans from https://lompocbeans.com for some time now. I'll compare the Pinquitos, Christmas Limas and Black Eye'd Peas from RC and see if I can notice any difference. The costs from Lompoc run $2.75 to $3.00/lb. I usually buy a combined 15 pounds and the shipping is $14.75 flat rate. So this adds about a $1 a pound to the costs.

RC has way more varieties, so I'll use them for the ones I can't get from Lompoc. If the quality from Lompoc is equal, that'll save me $3 a pound or so on those varieties and that'll go to buying more Shiner Bock!

[klflowers]

Let us know. Even though I'll never give up my RG membership. I am going to check and see if I can leave it to my daughter in my will. But you are right, one can never have too much Shiner.

[SheilaAnn]

wrgilb so how is the comparison RG v. Lompoc?

[wrgilb]

SheilaAnn so far I've had both the blackeyed peas and the pinquitos from both and I can't tell any difference between the two.

[wrgilb]

Well, here's all the beans in containers. Maybe a little over kill, but that's my nature

[ecowper]

Looking good!

[fzxdoc]

I like your collection!

K.

[DaveD]

Welp, we finally made the plunge and just received our first order of Rancho Gordo beans. Wasn't aware there was a "Bean Club" though... anyway, here's our "toe in the water": Tuscan Red, Midnight Black, Vaquero, and Frijol Negra de Vara. Also some chili powders and Mexican oregano. Fixin to smoke a rack of ribs on Friday afternoon, so if my from-home work day permits I'll try to make a simple batch to go with...

[fzxdoc]

Their spices are great, DaveD . I think you'll like them. I like the New Mexico Red chile powder a lot. It's just about the heat level my husband tolerates, so I put it in a lot of dishes. The oregano is stronger than what I am used to from the grocery store, so I use it with a light hand. I haven't tried their chili powder yet, but it gets good reviews. It's on my current order along a couple of other things, with free shipping that is part of being a Bean Club member (one free-shipping promo per calendar quarter with each Bean Club delivery).

Kathryn

[Bob K]

Love their Mexican oregano - you are spot on, it’s a bit more intense than typical (Italian?), so I use about 1/2 - 2/3 as much and rub between my hands to make a little finer texture. Delicious.

[fzxdoc]

Bob K , I use their Mexican oregano and their Indio oregano depending on the dish. The Indio Oregano is less citrusy and more earthy than their Mexican Oregano. I like them both.

Both are from Mexico, BTW, something that I didn't know. I'm guessing that they started with Mexican Oregano and when they decided to market another variety they probably decided not to call it "Mexican Oregano #2".

K.

[ecowper]

Restock of some critical beans just arrived!

[ecowper]

hah! However, I do not serve beans that make you toot.

[fzxdoc]

Nice haul you have there. I haven't placed my order for this quarter yet, because I keep adding to it. You hit three of my fav bean varieties right there.

K.

[ecowper]

fzxdoc I like to have the green lentils on hand. Never tried Puglia Lentils, looking forward to that. I don't use up other varieties of beans nearly as fast as the Pinquitos, Marcellas, and Flageolets

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Got the email about pasta... opened website, pasta sold out I do need to restock on beans and some spices though

[SheilaAnn]

Bean Club Members in Southern California…… did you get the notification? Rancho Gordo Encuentro 2023. It’s on!

https://www.altabajamarket.com

[ecowper]

Oh man, I wonder if I can manage to get a work trip to coincide with this!

[SheilaAnn]

ecowper let me know, I’ll fit you in!

[ecowper]

SheilaAnn I have to be in Brea sometime in September, so seeing if I can make it overlap with this. I’ll let you know.

[yakima]

Central Bean Company, Quincy, Wa. Detoured to Quincy, traveling from Yakima to Spokane. They grow and process, and also contract with growers. Have sold beans to Rancho Gordo. Besides 50 lb bags, they also sell 1 and 5 lb bags. $1/lb. I bought 5 lb bags, will parcel out for Christmas, etc.: cranberry, flor de mayo, great Northern, navy, orca, rojo Chiquito, white kidney, yellow, black. These are 2022 crop.

They also sell a lot of seed soybeans to midwest growers.

[ecowper]

They source to Rancho Gordo? I think it can stay here …. And the cranberry I get via RG are great. Guessing they may come from Central Bean?

[SheilaAnn]

yakima wait, what? Disregard…..

https://www.ranchogordo.com/pages/ab...oxoc%20Project.

Scroll down to Rancho gordo Ag Network

[fzxdoc]

I agree with ecowper . Your comment belongs in this topic. It's about a Rancho Gordo associate grower/vendor. Your instincts were right!

Kathryn

[yakima]

I don't know what they may sell to Rancho Gordo. Did not ask. My rural Nebraska upbringing kicked in (sort of a don't ask, don't tell policy re cows, acres, etc).

[ecowper]

Half my family are farmers in central CA ….. Galt and Lodi area in the Central Valley. I get that.

[yakima]

RG's cranberry pic looks identical to my beans.

[fzxdoc]

I bet that was a fun visit, yakima . It's hard not to buy loads of beans when they all look so interesting. I'd say you're set for beans for a while.

I knew that Steve Sando sourced beans from the US as well as Mexico, as he says in his Rancho Gordo Story:

One of the things that originally drew me to beans was the fact that they are indigenous to the Americas. It seems to me these indigenous ingredients should be familiar, if not common. American cuisine is re-inventing itself and I'd love to include ingredients, traditions and recipes from north and south of the border as part of the equation. I love the concept of The Americas. I feel as if it's just as important as the European heritage many of us share.--Steve Sando

One of the most delicious beans I ordered from Rancho Gordo early on were the Good Mother Stallard beans, an OG heirloom bean. They're not available very often, and when they are, they're usually first offered to RG Bean Club members before they go on the website. Here's their story:

Most likely bred in Virginia, and given its memorable name in the 1930s. We've been growing this beloved bean on the West Coast and have had some disappointing harvests. We should give up but it's a favorite among customers and staff, so we’re still investing the time and energy to bring them to you.--Steve Sando

So I'm not surprised, yakima, that you happened upon one of Sando's grower associates. And if you ever see Good Mother Stallard beans, grab a bag or two. You won't be disappointed.

Kathryn

[yakima]

Please pardon the brain fade. What is "OG", re an heirloom bean?

[ecowper]

yakima OG is an abbreviation for Original Gangster .... a slang term meaning original, or first, or old school

[yakima]

Flor de Mayo is a red bean similar to the Lila bean on
RG's site. Shorter shelf life than most beans.

[RamaJama]

I just got my shipment for this quarter. One of the bags was opened and spilled in the box. Are these beans still okay to use?

[ecowper]

You are going to cook those beans at 210F for many hours. Pasteurization will take care of any issues. Most of us store beans in containers that are about the same level of hygiene as that cardboard box :-)

[klflowers]

That has happened to me a couple times. Both times they sent me a new bag when I notified them about it.

[Alan Brice]

I had the same thing happen to me. The box was beat all to heck. the beans that were spilled were the "Ayocote Morado Beans". The other varieties all weighed in around 16oz. After scooping up all the AMB, I weighed what was there, couple oz short.