2024 the best bean review

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(as of Dec 03, 2024 21:41:09 UTC - Details)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the founder of the acclaimed Rancho Gordo bean company, an authoritative guide to 50 bean varieties and how to cook with them, featuring 100 classic and modern recipes.

“The Bean Book is the magnum opus from the KING of heirloom beans!”—Ted Allen, host of Food Network’s Chopped

“An absolute must-have for anyone who believes that beans can be every bit as magical as a spoonful of caviar.”—Chef José Andrés

Learn how easy it is to cook beans from scratch with the king of beans. Rancho Gordo beans, the legumes with a cult following and Bean Club waiting list more than 20,000 names long, brought attention to heirloom bean varieties through chefs like Thomas Keller and Marcella Hazan.

Founder and owner Steve Sando, with twenty-five years’ experience in growing, sourcing, and cooking with beans, is the perfect home cook to present classic recipes as well as new combinations for all kinds of eaters. With more than 100 recipes, there are vegan and vegetarian dishes like Fennel, Potato, and White Bean Soup with Saffron and Pizza Beans as well as full-on meat-lovers’ meals like Napa Valley Cassoulet, Southwestern Chile con Carne, and Clay-Baked Pacific Cod Gratin with Onions and White Beans.

The Bean Book includes instructions for cooking beans using multiple methods, then transforming those cooked beans into satisfying dips, soups, salads, mains, sides, and desserts. There is nobody better than the man behind Rancho Gordo to share recipes, tips, and historical background in a beautifully photographed, comprehensive collection, sure to be a classic.

From the Publisher

POLENTA WITH BORLOTTI BEANS AND TOMATO SAUCE

NORMAN ROSE TAVERN’S BLACK BEAN BURGER

BLACK BEAN SALAD WITH SHAVED VEGETABLES

ARNAB CHAKLADAR’S CHANA MASALA

WHITE BEAN AND ANCHOVY DIP

TLAPEÑO SOUP (MEXICAN CHICKPEA AND CHICKEN SOUP)

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press (September 10, 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1984860003
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1984860002
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.3 x 1.16 x 10.2 inches
Reviewer: Laura W. Henderson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One for my aughter, and one for me
Review: Besides being a beautiful book, there’s a lot of good info about beans and some yummy recipes.

Reviewer: Mary C.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Magnificent: a “must-have” for all bean lovers !
Review: I’m a die-hard “I don’t use recipes” snob and bean know-it-all: I’ve been cooking dried beans for decades, eat beans that I’ve cooked from dried at least once a day, and have at least 6 other bean books in my cookbook library (including 3 by Rancho Gordo), but, somehow, there are 9 Post-It notes on my brand-new book highlighting inspirations that I can’t wait to try. The book is really magnificent: it’s not only gorgeous, but comprehensive. It makes a perfect self-gift or a gift for anyone who says “I’d like to learn how to cook dried beans from scratch.” DO read the introduction, the chapter intros, and the recipe headers: we all benefit by absorbing the author’s decades of knowledge and philosophy about all things bean. Many of the recipes are vegetarian because Mr. Sando makes his preference for pristine beans clear. Moreover, he indicates whether ingredients (e.g. anchovies, lard, chicken broth) are optional and frequently suggests vegetarian alternatives. For the most part, the ingredients are accessible or amazonable. An ingredient list may look long, but it’s mostly suggested herbs and spices. Only a couple are a bit fancy: saffron and preserved lemons. The author is a purist when it comes to beans, but not for ingredients that may be important time-savers for home cooks: for example, he calls for frozen spinach. Or presumably store-bought preserved lemons. The author shouts out other famous bean recipes, such as Smitten Kitchen’s famous “Pizza Beans.” And mentions some brand names that we all want to see: for example, Anson Mills’ heirloom grains. My only query is why there are no charts with suggested cooking times for specific types of beans, or, for that matter, any suggested cooking times for beans. Different types of beans vary widely in their cooking times, so this is a puzzle to me. The book showcases 52 varieties of heirloom beans in 18 pages devoted to their presentation, with plenty of white space for each bean, but no “Suggested stovetop cooking time X minutes.” Yet the recipes call for “cooked” beans. I suggest some browsing on the Rancho Gordo website to help the uninitiated figure out whether they’ll be able to make it to their kid’s soccer game that afternoon. However, the book is otherwise magnificent: it presents the classics (“Senate Bean Soup,” anyone?), dips, burgers, sides, soups, and stews. Gotta try “Refried Beans” to see whether it beats mine. Ditto with “Midnight Black Bean Soup”: I need to try it with Mexican oregano. One of my Post-It’s is for “Slow-Baked Garbanzos.” What? I love garbanzos, I can’t wait to try this technique! All 9 Post-It’s: I can’t wait to try!

Reviewer: Jeffrey J.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book
Review: Although it sometimes reads as an advertisement for rancho gordo this book is great with info and descriptions of 50 heirloom beans. Lots of cool recipes.

Reviewer: Terrie B
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: "The" Bean Book ...Outstanding!
Review: Wow! This book is a culinary gem for anyone passionate about the simple bean. It delivers on an exhaustive collection of recipes ranging from simple traditional dishes, soups, salads, and even cornbread and sweets. The photos are beautiful and inviting. I highly recommend adding this cookbook to your collection, it is well worth the money.

Reviewer: DrP
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Amazing Cookbook!!!
Review: I love this cookbook. The first time I went to look through it I grabbed a few bookmarks so that I could mark my favorites. After marking almost every page I gave up and pulled them all out. It was deforming the book!I want to address some of the concerns noted in other reviews. First, I suppose it is a niche cookbook, but that’s kinda what you get when you order a bean book. It’s about beans.Second, I don’t find any of the ingredients hard to find. Maybe if you want the EXACT bean type the recipe recommends, you would need to order them, but Rancho Gordo is awesome for that. And if you order $50 worth you get free shipping.Are their beans by the pound as expensive as chicken? I guess so. They are also hella healthy and incredibly tasty. Worth it for $7 a bag. In addition, the recipe tells you types of beans you can use. And there is always an option you can find at a chain supermarket.I also actually like that none of the recipes include having to cook the beans. They give you a master recipe and you cook them that way. The recipes then just add in amazing ingredients and you have something special. I make a pot of beans on Sundays and we have bean based dishes a few nights a week. We love it!If you like beans, this book is simply amazing. Everything I have made from it is a winner. It’s a must have!

Reviewer: Randi Jo
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beans!
Review: I think this book fell into my hands at a great time. After reading Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino, I've been more interested in heirloom foods for environmental and global food security reasons. So finding an entire cookbook (and company that supports small heirloom farms!) dedicated to heirloom beans? Sounds like providence.I love when cookbooks include backstories, information, and tips in their introductions and recipe intros, which this one does and in a way that can be extremely helpful. Plus the recipes themselves are organized into interesting categories and use a variety of the thematic ingredient. Plus most - if not all, recipes include a vegetarian variation. Most recipes seem to have influence from Mexican/Central American and Italian influence with a bit of African and Persian sprinkled in.My only real complaint is that it says it's aimed at home cooks, but a lot of the ingredient list are things that are not common to most home cook shelves, such as safflower oil, pineapple vinegar, specific Spanish paprikas and Mexican oreganos, and endives are some examples that I can think of (unless perhaps you're from a very urban area and can source these ingredients at your local Walmart? It's a sad day to be a rural dweller). Plus just the constant stressing of sourcing super fresh ingredients - not always an option for the home cook on a budget. Sometimes it just gives exclusionist vibes. :')

Reviewer: Diarmid M. Lucey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Who knew?
Review: Nicely produced and written in a very friendly and informative style. Who knew you could all that stuff with beans?

Reviewer: Espi510
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Holy Beans !
Review: What a great Book lots of information great recipes. The photos of Beans and food are very vibrant this book is a must for every Bean lover and cook. Put in your cart and buy today.

Reviewer: Milda Ruffo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I like to vary the beans I cook and learn more ways to make delicious meals with them. I order most of my beans from Rancho Gordo because they carry all of them and the quality is excellent. I have earmarked quite a few recipes to make in the near future.