britches is to cook them in a cast iron pot over a slow fire and season them with a piece of smokehouse meat. They are also excellent with potatoes cooked on top of the beans, and the addition of a potato onion also enhances the flavor. In this region, greasy and cut-short beans were commonly used to make leather britches, although a number of other types were also used.
A Few of the Old Tennessee Bean Varieties
Occasionally when collecting seeds I will be given a variety with a name that suggests its origin. Two examples come to mind—the first being Old Time German, which is a strikingly beautiful bean with pods that are light green in the early stages of development and light pinkish violet when fully mature. The elongated seeds are light pink-gray-tan in color, and the flowers are a faded pink-violet hue, making a beautiful addition to either flower or vegetable gardens. The second example is called Old German and is similar to the white half-runner types. During the mid-1800s, a good number of Germans settled in East Tennessee, so they may have brought seeds from these beans with them from Germany. Both examples are pole beans.
Most of the old bean varieties that I have are pole beans, and that seems to be the case down through the history of our region. One of my old mountain friends, Herb Clabo of Sevier County, Tennessee, who is now one hundred years old, once told me, “If hit’s worth havin’ it’s worth stickin’,” and I have found that to be true for my preferences.
Although the greatest diversity of bean varieties is to be found in the mountains of western North Carolina and the eastern sections of Kentucky, in East Tennessee, especially in the mountain regions, a good number of old beans are still to be found that have been grown, preserved, and handed down through the generations.
To a lesser extent there are still some old varieties being grown on the Cumberland Plateau, but in West Tennessee where the country is flat and large-scale mechanized farming has been practiced over a long period of time, old varieties fell out of favor and were replaced with modern varieties. This is not to say that old varieties don’t exist in West Tennessee; it is that their numbers are fewer, far between, and difficult to locate.
Below are listed some of the more unusual varieties that I have collected over the years. With the exception of a number of white-seeded beans, the vast majority of beans have beautiful seed coat mottling and are works of art worthy of display.
Milk and Cider—One of my personal favorites is a pole bean called Milk and Cider that came from Claiborne County, Tennessee. The green pods are from five to six inches long with slightly curved pods. The beans’ seed coat mottling resembles the Turkey Craw Bean, with the exception that the light gray color appears as though it had been airbrushed onto the seed coat. As is the case with many of the old bean varieties, Milk and Cider remains tender at all stages of growth, right up to full maturity when the pods are well filled out.
Southern Cornfield—The Southern Cornfield bean was collected in Sevier County, Tennessee, and was once commonly grown in cornfields across Southern Appalachia. The pods are semiflat, measuring six to seven inches in length with the pods being slightly curved. The elongated seeds are light tan with dark brown stripes. The Southern Cornfield is a prolific producer, often producing eight to ten beans to a tag.
Mountain City Whitehull—One of the most unusual beans in my collection is the Mountain City Whitehull, which comes from upper East Tennessee. The pods measure from five to six inches in length, and the well-filled-out pods are white with a hint of light yellow. The seeds are white and range from medium to large. This is the first white-hull bean that I have been able to find, although a good number of varieties were once available.
Old Time Golden Stick—Collected in Fentress County, Tennessee, in 1994, the Golden Stick Bean is an excellent all-purpose variety that matures early in the growing season. This bean very much resembles the white half-runner and makes a good substitute for it. At full maturity the seeds are golden tan.
Pink Tip Pole Bean—Pink tip beans have long been popular in upper East Tennessee. This variety is a heavy producer of five-inch-long beans that are an off-yellow to white color fading to a pink hue at their tips, and finally turning to a pink-purple at full maturity. The seeds are dark tan. My seed stock came from Unicoi County, Tennessee.
Red Goose Pole Bean—The Red Goose Bean is a heavy producer of six- to seven-inch pods that are well filled out at maturity. When the beans are nearing full maturity, the pods fade to a pinkish-violet hue. The seeds are dark red and elongated in shape.
Pumpkin Bean-Pole Variety—The Pumpkin Bean produces large pods that are from six to eight inches in length. Two or three of these and you have a plate full! The large elongated light tan seeds are quite large and have a wonderful flavor when the green beans are cooked after the pods have matured.
Butter Beans
People often ask, What is the difference between butter beans and limas? The answer is, They’re all limas. Outside of the South, when the term lima is used, it generally refers to the green limas and in some cases the large and small white varieties. Here in the Southland it is the speckled limas that are referred to as butter beans, with Florida Speckled and Jackson Wonder being two good examples. Although butter beans are grown to some extent in East Tennessee, they are not nearly as common as they are in the Deep South, where no large garden would be complete without them.
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